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HER 
MOUNTAIN   LOVER 


"  SO   I  'M   TO   RIDE  THIS  TIN   PONY,  AM   I  ?  "   SAID   JIM. 


HER 
MOUNTAIN    LOVER 


BY 

HAMLIN   GARLAND 


NEW  YORK 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP 

PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  1900,  1901,  by 
THE  CENTURY  Co. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

I  A  MEETING  IN  THE  LOW  COUNTRY   ...      3 

II    THE  BIG  CANOE 23 

III  JIM   REACHES  LAND 53 

IV  AFOOT  IN  LONDON 65 

V    A  RARE  FLOWER  OF  DECAY 114 

VI  JIM  MEETS  HIS  MAN  TWOMBLY    .        .        .        .158 

VII  JIM    LEADS   A    PACK-TRAIN    OUT    UPON    THE 

MOOR 188 

VIII    JIM  DEMANDS  A  REASON 214 

IX  JIM  BREAKS  CAMP  ON  THE  MOOR       .        .       .224 

X    JIM   RETURNS  TO  LONDON 242 

XI  THE  EFFECT  OF  "SAVAGE  AFRICA"    .        .        .254 

XII  HOMEWARD  IN  THE  BIG  CANOE    .        .        .        .269 

XIII  THE  LITTLE  GIRL  IN  ASPEN   PARK      .        .        .280 

XIV  THE   SNOWY  PEAKS 325 

XV  ON  THE  GRIZZLY  BEAR  TRAIL        .       .        .        .340 

XVI    BESSIE  CLIMBS  A  PEAK 380 


HER   MOUNTAIN    LOVER 


A  MEETING  IN  THE  LOW  COUNTRY 

r  I  AHE  young  miner  uttered  a  shout  of  pro- 
JL     test. 

"  Say,  now,  doc,  don't  do  that.  What 
could  I  do  in  London  ?  Why,  they  'd  sure 
eat  me  up  there.  I  can't  even  count  their 
durn  money.  I  won't  do  it.  That  's  askin' 
too  much  of  a  pardner." 

The  Chicago  member  of  the  firm  smiled. 
"  Jim,  you  're  taking  on  too  much  worry. 
They  're  a  slow-going  lot  over  there.  You  '11 
have  plenty  of  time  to  count  your  change 
while  they  're  getting  out  o'  their  chairs.  The 
question  is,  have  we  a  good  property  or  not  ?  " 

3 


4  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

"Property  's  all  right,  but — " 
"  Do  we  need  money,  or  don't  we  ?  " 
"Yes.     But  suppose  I  don't — " 
"  You   Ve  got  to.      That   mine   properly 
handled  is  worth  five  hundred  thousand  dol 
lars,  and  the  thing  for  you  to  do  is  to  interest 
some  English  '  sport '  who  has  money  to  throw 
at  the  cats,  and  get  him  to  take  a  half-interest 
and  help  us  develop  the  property." 

"  But  see  here,  doc.  I  was  raised  in  the 
hills.  I  'm  no  water-dog.  I  can't  paddle  a 
stone-boat.  It  makes  me  seasick  to  see  a 
girl  shake  a  table-cloth.  I  can't  go  over  there 
in  a  boat." 

"  You  can't  walk." 

"A  Pullman  's  good  enough  for  me.  I 
guess  I  '11  put  off  goin'  to  Europe  till  I  can 
go  by  train."  The  young  fellow  left  his  chair, 
and  began  pacing  the  office  floor.  "  See 
here,  doc ;  I  don't  want  to  gigg  back  —  I  'm 
a  sure-'nough  pardner.  Say  the  word,  and  I  '11 
jump  a  cayuse  and  back  him  clear  to  the 
Yukon  valley ;  but  this  going  to  England  in 
a  boat  makes  my  fur  bristle;  it  does  for 
sure." 

The  doctor,  turning  in  his  noiseless  swivel- 
chair,  followed  his  partner  with  amused  glance. 


A   MEETING   IN   THE   LOW   COUNTRY  5 

"Jim,  the  thing  is  settled.  It  would  n't  do  to 
send  a  'slick  one' on  such  business;  he'd 
queer  the  whole  show.  No ;  you  're  the  man. 
The  tone  of  your  voice  carries  conviction. 
You  got  me  to  go  into  a  hole  when  no  one 
else  could  win  a  nickel  out  o'  my  pocket  with 
the  best  dirt  in  the  pan.  My  going  is  out  of 
the  question.  It  would  n't  do  to  leave  Maidie 
and  the  babes,  and,  besides,  I  've  got  to  hold 
on  to  my  practice  here  till  you  make  a  raise. 
You  remember  I  Ve  kept  the  thing  going 
now  for  two  years." 

The  younger  man's  handsome  face  grew 
tender.  "  That 's  the  God's  truth,  doc.  It 's 
time  I  made  a  break.  The  stuff  is  in  there 
all  right,  all  right,  and  we  've  got  to  have 
help  to  get  it  out.  I  see  all  that."  He  put 
both  hands  in  his  pockets  and  asked  :  "  When 
had  I  better  start  ?  " 

"  Saturday's  boat." 

Jim  fell  into  a  chair.  "  Great  Scott !  Soon 
as  that  ? " 

"  Sooner  the  quicker,"  replied  the  inexor 
able  partner. 

"  I  know ;  but  I  need  an  outfit." 

"What  do  you  want?  This  is  n't  exactly 
like  getting  married.  That  's  a  neat  suit 


6  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

you  Ve  got  on.     A  sack- suit  like  that  will  go 
anywhere  —  Wagon  Wheel  or  London." 

"  But  I  thought  they  all  wore  plug-hats  and 
dress-suits  over  there." 

"  Some  of  'em  do,  and  others  wear  smock- 
shirts.  You  're  all  right  just  as  you  are.  In 
fact,  it  would  be  good  business  for  you  to 
dress  just  as  you  do  in  Wagon  Wheel.  They 
like  an  American  to  be  picturesque ;  and,  be 
sides,  you  're  the  real  thing  —  cow-boy,  minerr 
trailer.  You  work  this  thing  right,  and  some 
young  '  scion  of  nobility,'  as  the  reporters  sayr 
will  get  curious  as  a  buck  antelope,  and  you 
can  rope  him,  and  bring  him  and  his  pile  right 
back  with  you.  But  you  don't  seem  to  be 
jubilating  ? "  remarked  the  doctor,  still  vastly 
amused  at  his  partner's  troubled  face. 

Jim  did  not  smile.  "  Jubilating !  Honestlyr 
doc,  this  is  the  toughest  proposition  I  ever 
had  to  face.  It  sure  takes  the  wind  out  of 
me.  But  I  '11  do  it."  He  rose,  and  his  frame 
expanded  with  power.  "I  '11  rozum  up  my 
hands,  and  take  a  fall  out  o'  the  British  aris 
tocracy,  or  know  the  reason  why.  It 's  our 
last  play,  and  —  we  make  it." 

The  doctor  also  rose,  and  extended  his 
hand.  As  they  clasped  hands  they  looked 


A  MEETING   IN  THE   LOW   COUNTRY  7 

each  into  the  other's  face  in  perfect  under 
standing.  They  were  both  stalwart  fellows, 
and  nearly  of  a  height.  Jim  was  not  more 
than  twenty-five;  the  doctor  looked  some 
five  or  six  years  older,  plump  and  prosperous. 
He  wore  a  full  beard  to  make  him  look 
middle-aged,  but  his  step  betrayed  him.  Jim 
was  dressed  in  a  shapely  sack-suit  of  rough 
brown  cloth,  and  wore  a  soft  hat,  such  as 
professional  men  wear  in  the  Middle  West. 
Its  large  brim  suited  well  his  broad  shoulders 
and  thick  brown  hair.  His  clean-shaven  chin 
was  strong  and  fine,  and*  his  brown  eyes  were 
clear  and  pleasant. 

"  Well,  now  the  thing  is  settled,"  said  the 
doctor,  briskly  pulling  down  the  lid  of  his 
desk,  "  let 's  go  out  and  see  Maidie.  She  's 
been  across  twice,  and  will  fix  you  out  in  an 
hour  with  a  full  schedule,  and  you  can  get 
off  on  the  noon  train  to-morrow.  Nothing 
pleases  her  more  than  to  help  some  one  set 
sail  for  Europe." 

Jim  was  silent,  and  continued  silent  all  the 
way  down  the  elevator.  Once  in  the  street, 
which  was  roaring  full  of  people  on  their  way 
homeward,  the  doctor  talked  of  their  mine, 
secure  in  the  midst  of  the  crowd. 


8  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"The  reason  I  advocate  this  London 
scheme  is,  they  don't  want  the  whole  hog 
over  there.  I  mean  they  don't  know  the  con 
ditions  as  well  as  Americans.  They  'd  take 
it  all  if  they  did,  but  they  don't.  They  're 
willing  to  allow  the  discoverer  something  for 
his  skill  and  energy." 

Suddenly,  after  a  silence,  the  doctor  said : 
"  Jim,  you  've  got  to  stop  eatin'  tobacco.  It 's 
behind  the  times  and  it 's  unwholesome.  Now, 
I  don't  want  you  to  surrender  any  good  traits,, 
but  that 's  an  American  habit  you  can  do  with 
out.  For  heaven's  sake,  stop  it !  " 

Jim  was  astonished  and  grieved.  "  Mebbe 
you  'd  like  to  have  me  wear  a  collar  that 
buttons  at  the  back  ?  " 

"  I  don't  care  what  kind  of  a  collar  you 
wear,  provided  it 's  clean  ;  but  this  everlasting 
spitting  is  intolerable.  It  's  unsanitary,  and 
it  does  you  harm.  You  can  get  all  the  nico 
tine  you  want  by  smoking.  If  you  got  to 
eating  a  plug  o'  tobacco  while  talking  with 
our  investing  earl,  he  'd  go  home  in  a  hearse. 
It  won't  do.  Keep  the  hat  and  the  miner's 
boots  and  the  wool  shirt, —  they  are  useful, — 
but  leave  the  plug-tobacco  right  here." 

"  Oh,  anything  at  all,"  Jim  said,  ominously 
gentle.  "What  else?" 


A   MEETING   IN   THE   LOW   COUNTRY  9 

"And  don't  get  too  much  interested  in 
the  girls  you  meet  over  there.  Maidie  's 
got  a  wife  picked  out  for  you  right  here  in 
the  Park." 

The  doctor  cut  across  corners  and  raced 
between  cable-cars  and  drays,  during  all  this 
admonitory  talk,  without  haste  or  confusion, 
because  native  to  it;  but  the  mountaineer 
visibly  perspired  in  his  apprehension  of  "  trou 
ble." 

"  Don't  hurry  so,  doc.  Give  a  feller  time 
to  look  around." 

Ultimately  the  doctor  led  his  guest  and 
partner  down  a  long  flight  of  steps  into  the 
comparative  safety  and  quiet  of  a  great  rail 
way-depot,  and  when  they  were  comfortably 
seated  in  a  suburban  car,  he  changed  the  sub 
ject  by  asking  abruptly : 

"Where's  Kelly?" 

"  Gone  to  the  Klondike." 

"You  don't  say!  Kelly  was  too  old  for 
that.  Jim,  there  was  a  great  man.  Discov 
ered  more  veins  of  ore  and  made  less  out  of 
them  than  any  man  in  the  mountain.  Glover 
go  with  him  ?  " 

"  No.     Hank  married,  you  know." 

"  No  !     Whom  ? " 

"  A  widow  from  St.  Paul.     She  was  n't  ex- 


I0  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

actly  in  high-toned  society,  but  she  was  as 
good  as  Hank,  so  I  'm  not  kickin'.  She  was 
sober,  and  that 's  more  than  you  could  say  of 
Hank  Glover  —  ordinarily." 

"  Drink  beat  Hancy,  too." 

"  Sure." 

"  Well,  Jim,  that  is  n't  your  trouble,  and 
I  'm  glad  of  it.  That  won't  beat  you  on  this 
trip.  All  the  same,  watch  out  they  don't 
down  you  with  some  new  breed  o'  drink. 
They  '11  be  for  drawing  absinthe  or  some 
other  green  liquor  on  you.  Go  by  on  the 
other  sidewalk." 

"Oh,  that  's  all  right,  old  man;  don't  you 
worry.  The  feller  that  does  me  up  over  there 
has  got  to  keep  guessin'.  I  'm  goin'  to  kick 
every  bush  before  I  camp  down  by  it.  No 
varmint  gets  the  sneak  on  me — not  if  I  'm 
sober,  and  I  generally  am." 

"  I  know,  Jim,  you  can  take  care  of  such 
things  all  right.  But  girls  are  your  weakness, 
old  boy.  You  're  too  good-lookin'  not  to  get 
a  bid.  Turn  'em  down  —  beware  of  them  ; 
wait  till  you  get  this  deal  through  and  get 
back  to  Aspen  Park." 

"If  tickets  was  as  cheap  as  advice  it 
would  n't  cost  me  a  blame  cent  to  get  there, 


A  MEETING   IN   THE  LOW   COUNTRY         u 

would  it  ? "  retorted  Jim,  musingly,  looking 
out  of  the  car- window  at  the  maze  of  railway- 
tracks. 

The  doctor  remained  unmoved.  "  Wait  till 
we  strike  Maidie.  Then  you  will  have  advice 
—  in  car-loads." 

"  Oh,  well,  advice  won't  do  me  no  hurt  if  I 
don't  follow  it,  I  reckon." 

The  two  men  understood  each  other  per 
fectly,  for  they  had  camped  together  on  the 
trail,  months  at  a  time,  in  the  loneliest  parts 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Jim  was  always 
picking  up  pieces  of  "  float,"  while  the  doctor 
had  eyes  only  for  signs  of  sheep  and  grizzlies. 
When  together  they  talked  in  the  rapid,  syn 
copated,  picturesque  vernacular  of  the  plains  ; 
but  Jim  had  a  country-school  education,  and 
Ramsdell  was  a  graduate  of  an  Eastern  uni 
versity,  and  had  taken  a  degree  in  a  well- 
known  medical  college.  He  loved  the  lingo, 
the  life,  and  the  dress  of  wild  America,  to 
which  he  returned  every  year  with  the  aban 
don  of  a  man  who  fears  to  lose  something 
large  and  fine  and  sane  out  of  his  life.  When 
Jim  found  his  big  mine  on  the  Grizzly  Bear, 
just  above  Wagon  Wheel,  he  wired  the  doc 
tor  to  come,  and  Ramsdell  went.  Since  then 


12  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

they  had  put  every  cent  they  could  spare  into 
the  development  of  the  mine.  When  he 
reached  the  limit  Ramsdell  wired  Jim  to  come 
to  Chicago,  and  Jim  came  by  the  next  train. 
Brothers  could  not  be  more  intimate,  more 
dependent  than  they. 

The  doctor  slyly  looked  at  his  partner  with 
pride  and  satisfaction.  Jim  never  looked 
handsomer,  and  there  was  some  hint  of  the 
wild  country  in  everything  he  did,  in  the  set 
of  his  hat-brim,  in  his  broad,  strong  hands,  in 
his  long  brown  mustache,  and  in  the  swing  of 
his  legs. 

"You  fellers  here  walk  for  a  business, 
don't  you  ? "  remarked  the  mountaineer  as 
they  got  out  of  the  car  in  Aspen  Park  and 
started  up  the  street.  "When  we  're  in 
business,  we  ride  a  cayuse ;  when  we  walk, 
we  saunter.  You  don't  give  a  man  time  to 
look  around  and  see  what 's  rampin'  down  on 
him.  Maybe  an  elephant  might  be  surgin* 
round  the  corner — you  can't  tell." 

As  the  two  men  approached  the  corner  of 
the  third  block  a  very  handsome  woman  in 
a  black  gown  came  on  the  low  porch  of  a 
pretty  cottage  to  welcome  them.  She  was 
large  and  graceful,  her  flesh  was  like  ivory, 


A  MEETING   IN  THE  LOW   COUNTRY         13 

and  the  guileless  candor  of  a  child  was  in  her 
big  brown  eyes.  It  was  plain  that  she  wor 
shiped  her  husband. 

After  a  quick  and  hearty  kiss  Ramsdell 
turned,  his  eyes  shining.  "  Maidie,  this  is 
my  partner,  Jim  Matteson." 

Mrs.  Ramsdell  put  her  hand  in  Jim's  broad 
palm  with  a  smile  that  went  deep  down  into 
the  lonely  man's  soul. 

"  I  'm  glad  to  meet  you,  Mr.  Matteson." 

"  Oh,  don't  'mister'  him,  Maidie." 

"  Call  me  Jim,"  said  the  young  miner. 

She  smiled  archly.    "  May  I  ?" 

"Why,  sure;  everybody  calls  me  Jim, 
except  doc,  who  says  '  James  '  when  he  wants 
to  rile  me.  I  never  was  called  '  mister '  in  my 
life." 

"Well,  then — Jim,  you  are  welcome,"  said 
Mrs.  Ramsdell,  with  just  a  little  hesitation 
before  his  name.  "  Come  in  at  once ;  dinner 
is  quite  ready  to  serve." 

Jim  was  profoundly  impressed  by  his  hos 
tess,  and  said  so  to  Ramsdell  as  soon  as  they 
entered  his  room. 

"  Say,  doc,  if  you  could  locate  a  claim  with 
the  same  success —  Why,  durn  it,  man,  you  've 
got  the  handsomest  woman  in  seventeen 


I4  HER    MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

counties.  Let  me  look  at  you  again."  He 
laid  hands  on  the  shoulders  of  his  smiling 
host.  "  I  reckon  I  undervalued  your  good 
looks.  Of  course  I  always  liked  you  —  you 
rode  well,  and  you  held  a  gun  pretty  fair; 
but,  say,  I  did  n't  think  you  could  do  a  thing 
like  this.  Any  more  where  she  comes  from  ?  " 

"  Lots  of  'em.  You  '11  have  one  beside  you 
at  dinner  —  my  wife's  niece.  She  's  listened 
to  my  talk  about  you  till  she  's  crazy  to  see 
you.  Oh,  you  're  in  for  it,  pard." 

Jim  was  seized  with  a  sudden  panic.  "  Oh, 
Lord !  Say,  lend  me  your  razor.  My  chin 
is  all  brussely." 

"Oh,  you  're  all  right,  son!  Brace  up. 
You  must  get  used  to  guileless  girls  in  low- 
necked  gowns,  and  to  six-course  dinners,  too. 
They  '11  make  a  dead-set  at  you  in  the  East." 

"  I  begin  to  weaken  right  now,"  replied 
Jim,  dolefully.  "  I  'm  not  fitted  for  it.  I  can 
camp  down  in  the  rain  and  cook  a  hunk  o' 
bacon  on  a  forked  stick  all  right,  but  I  can't 
kie-to  in  a  parlor  worth  a  red  cent.  I  'm  sure 
no  account  on  a  carpet." 

The  doctor  was  relentless.  He  dragged 
Jim  down  to  the  parlor  and  introduced  him  to 
Miss  Bessie  Blake,  a  very  pretty  girl  with 


A   MEETING   IN   THE   LOW   COUNTRY          15 

timid  eyes,  who  gazed  at  Jim  in  wonder  and 
admiration,  while  he  looked  at  her  in  awe. 
'She  was  very  fair  and  flushed  easily.  There 
was  a  little  wavy  strand  of  her  red-gold  hair 
falling  loose  over  her  temple,  which  gave  him 
a  troublesome  desire  to  reach  over  and  put  it 
behind  her  ear,  where  it  evidently  belonged. 
She  carried  also  a  little  black  patch  on  her 
chin,  which  he  thought  concealed  some  wound 
on  her  delicate  flesh. 

"  Oh,  we  Ve  heard  so  much  about  you,  Mr. 
Matteson,"  Bessie  fervently  began. 

"  Nothing  bad,  I  hope." 

"Call  him  Jim,"  interrupted  Ramsdell,  with 
mischievous  intent  to  confuse  the  girl. 

Jim  ignored  his  partner's  suggestion  this 
time.  "  I  wish  I  'd  'a'  heard  more  about  you ; 
I  'd  'a'  come  on  sooner." 

The  doctor  shouted :  "  Not  so  bad  for  an 
old  pancake-turner !  I  told  you  !  " 

He  turned  triumphantly  to  Mrs.  Ramsdell, 
who  rescued  Jim  by  saying,  "  Dinner  is  wait 
ing,"  and  led  the  way  out  into  the  dining- 
room,  where  an  exquisite  little  dinner-service 
was  spread.  Jim  felt  like  a  saw-horse,  and  his 
hands  were  like  pack-saddles  as  he  sat  down, 
and  he  was  flushing  and  chilling  within.  How- 


16  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

ever,  he  did  not  show  his  embarrassment,  but 
remained  deliberate,  watchful,  and  outwardly 
at  ease,  his  handsome  face  set  in  stern  lines. 
The  women  communicated  their  admiration  of 
him  by  means  of  significant  glances  which  Jim 
did  not  see,  and  which  the  doctor  most  thor 
oughly  enjoyed.  Jim  was  quite  up  to  the 
doctor's  report  of  him. 

"Well,  Maidie,"  Ramsdell  began  as  he 
served  the  soup,  "  you  must  prepare  Jim  for 
his  fate.  I  'm  sending  him  to  London." 

"  To  London  !  "     The  wife  was  amazed. 

"  Oh,  how  nice ! "  said  Bessie,  with  shining 
eyes  fixed  on  Jim. 

"  When  do  you  go  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Ramsdell. 

"To-morrow  —  if  my  grit  holds  out,  and 
the  doctor  don't  change  his  mind." 

"  How  perfectly  delightful ! "  exclaimed 
Bessie,  impulsively.  "  How  I  wish  I  were 
going,  too ! " 

"  Well,  Bessie  !  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Ramsdell. 

The  girl  flushed  in  an  agony  of  confusion. 
"Oh,  you  know  what  I  mean,  aunty,"  she 
cried  in  appeal. 

''  We  know  what  you  said"  remarked  the 
doctor,  who  was  a  remorseless  tease.  "  It 
seemed  a  little  precipitate,  to  tell  the  truth." 


A   MEETING   IN   THE   LOW   COUNTRY          17 

The  girl  turned  to  Jim,  who  was  also 
warm,  but  by  no  means  confused.  "  You 
won't  mind  what  he  says,  will  you,  Mr. 
Matteson  ?  " 

"  Not  a  bit,"  he  sturdily  replied.  "  It  's 
none  o'  his  business,  anyhow."  Jim's  words 
were  blunt  and  homely,  but  his  tone  gave  the 
girl  relief  and  pleasure.  "  I  wish  somebody 
I  knew  was  going  along." 

Mrs.  Ramsdell  helped  them  both  by  saying, 
"  Have  you  never  been  abroad?  " 

"  Never." 

"  You  Ve  been  in  Chicago  before  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  in  a  way.  I  Ve  come  in  with 
cattle  two  or  three  times.  But  I  don't  know 
much  about  the  town.  I  never  was  out  in 
this  part  before." 

"  What  are  you  sending  him  to  London 
for,  Willard  ? " 

"To  rope  a  cotton  wood  stump,  my  dear. 
Wives  should  n't  ask  too  many  questions  on 
such  subjects.  I  'm  sending  Jim  out  after 
fire-wood ;  in  other  words,  Jim  has  got  to 
sell  some  stock  in  our  mine." 

"Have  you  thought  about  your  boat?" 
asked  Mrs.  Ramsdell.  "  Which  will  you 
take.  The  Concord,  I  suppose." 


!8  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"  They  're  all  alike  to  me,"  he  replied.  "  I 
jest  as  soon  die  in  one  as  the  other." 

"  Are  you  a  bad  sailor  ?  " 

"  Bad  sailor !  Why,  bless  your  heart,  I  'm 
not  a  sailor  at  all !  I  never  was  in  anything 
bigger  than  a  canoe  in  my  life." 

"  Anybody  that  can  ride  a  pitching  bronco 
ought  not  to  get  queasy  when  a  steamer  rolls 
a  little,"  said  the  doctor. 

"What  kind  of  a  thing  is  a  pitching 
bronco?"  asked  Bessie. 

"  It  's  a  horse  with  a  calico-colored  hide, 
a  bad  red  eye,  and  a  habit  of  walking  on  his 
ears,"  the  doctor  replied. 

"  Oh,  how  funny ! "  said  Bessie. 

Jim  faced  her  gravely.  "Yes,  it  always  is 
funny  to  the  feller  lookin'  on.  A  man  on  a 
mean  bronco  is  a  circus.  I  Ve  heard  folks 
don't  get  much  sympathy  for  bein'  seasick, 
either." 

Mrs.  Ramsdell  turned  from  a  low-voiced 
order  to  the  servant,  and  said :  "  Willard,  have 
you  told  Jim  what  ship  to  take  and  what  part 
of  the  ship  to  get  his  berth  in  ?  " 

"  Now  it 's  coming,  Jim  —  cure  for  seasick 
ness  and  all." 

The  young  wife  colored  a  little.     "Now, 


A   MEETING   IN   THE   LOW   COUNTRY         19 

Will,  hush !  It  would  be  cruel  not  to  give 
Jim  some  hints  of  how  to  get  safely  off." 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know,"  replied  the  doctor,  in 
the  tone  used  on  the  vaudeville  stage.  "  Jim 's 
bound  to  be  sick.  He  's  going  to  cuss  me 
and  the  ship  and  the  ocean  and  everything 
else ;  but  that  's  what  a  sea-voyage  is  for. 
It 's  the  best  possible  preparation  for  London. 
Any  old  sog  of  an  island  will  do  Jim  after  he 's 
been  on  the  ocean  a  week." 

"Willard,  do  keep  still !"  interrupted  Mrs. 
Ramsdell.  "You  Ve  spoiled  Jim's  appetite 
already.  He  is  n't  eating  a  thing." 

"  Nonsense  ;  you  can't  spoil  Jim's  appetite. 
He  's  waiting  to  see  which  fork  to  take  up," 
said  the  doctor,  brutally.  "  Take  the  biggest 
one,  Jim,  or  the  nearest  one.  Neither  of  'ern 
cuts  any  ice.  All  the  one  I  claim  to  know  is 
the  little  one  for  oysters." 

Jim  stiffened  again,  but  manfully  stood  to 
the  truth.  "I  'm  not  so  bad  as  that,  but 
there  are  two  or  three  little  kinks  here  that 
I  don't  quite  savvy." 

"  Don't  lay  'em  to  me,  Jim.  I  am  a  plain 
man,  but  my  wife  is  n't  a  bit  plain.  I  keep 
her  down  to  five  courses  and  three  forks,  but 
it  is  the  result  of  eternal  vigilance." 


20  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

The  women  turned  to  Jim  and  got  him  to 
talk  about  his  mine,  his  horses,  his  prospect 
ing,  and  a  dozen  other  interesting  topics. 
His  diction  became  vivid,  terse,  and  powerful, 
and  the  women  glowed  with  pleasure.  Jim,  on 
his  part,  was  inspired  by  such  eager  listeners 
to  do  his  best. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say  Willard  goes  with 
you  on  these  trips?"  asked  Mrs.  Rams- 
dell. 

"  He  used  to.  Lately  he  's  been  too  busy, 
so  he  says." 

Mrs.  Ramsdell  turned  reproachfully.  "  Will, 
you  never  told  us  about  these  things." 

"  Why,  yes,  I  did,"  replied  the  doctor,  "  only 
I  did  n't  tell  my  story  so  well,  that 's  all.  Jim  's 
a  poetic  naturalist  and  a  naturalistic  poet. 
He  sees  things  without  looking  for  'em.  I  'm 
sending  him  to  England  because  he  '11  interest 
them  over  there,  and  while  they  're  listening 
to  his  tales  of  grizzly  bears  and  Indians,  he  '11 
hypnotize  'em  into  putting  money  into  our 
mine.  Oh,  I  'm  long-headed.  Let  me  man 
age  this  thing,  and  when  Jim  comes  back 
we  '11  move  over  on  the  Lake  Shore  Drive, 
and  Bessie  and  Jim  can  visit  us  there." 

"  Willard  Ramsdell — you  are  brutal!  "  cried 


A   MEETING   IN   THE   LOW   COUNTRY         21 

his  indignant  wife,  while  Bessie  again  blushed 
most  vividly. 

Ramsdell  was  quite  unmoved.  "  I  'm  an 
inspired  prophet,"  he  calmly  replied.  "  I 
thought  you  were  interested  in  having  them 
on  good  terms,"  he  added,  making  matters 
worse. 

He  had  succeeded  in  spoiling  the  evening 
by  throwing  a  palpable  constraint  over  the 
young  people,  and  though  the  women  did 
their  best  to  get  Jim  back  to  his  former  vigor 
and  freedom  of  narrative,  he  remained  mono 
syllabic  in  his  remarks. 

He  went  to  bed,  however,  with  a  feeling  of 
having  passed  one  of  the  most  profitable 
evenings  of  his  life.  Miss  Blake's  clear,  can 
did  glance  and  ready  smile  had  pleased  him 
mightily. 

"  I  wonder  how  she  would  stand  the  climate 
of  Colorado,"  he  thought,  with  a  shy  inward 
smile.  "  Mebbe  I  '11  ask  her  one  o'  these  days, 
after  I  sell  the  mine." 

Bessie  was  a  vigorous  girl,  and  made  a 
blooming  breakfast  companion  for  Jim,  who 
sat  opposite  her  at  the  table  next  morning ; 
and  while  Mrs.  Ramsdell  talked  to  him  about 
ways  and  aids  to  crossing  the  water,  Jim 


22  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

studied  the  girl  with  a  curious  reflective  stare 
which  threw  her  into  self-conscious  confusion. 
He  sat  like  a  man  in  a  dream,  eating  mechan 
ically,  hearing  little  that  any  one  else  said,  but 
seeing  and  hearing  all  that  Bessie  did  or  said. 
Her  like  he  had  never  seen  at  close  range. 

He  had  very  little  further  to  say  to  her  till 
the  time  came  to  say  good-by.  She  stood 
beside  Mrs.  Ramsdell  as  the  latter  said : 

"Write  to  us,  won't  you,  Mr.  Matteson  ? 
We  '11  be  eager  to  know  how  you  like  Lon 
don.  Tell  us  all  you  feel." 

"Oh,  do!"  cried  Bessie. 

"All  right,"  said  Jim.  "I  'm  a  purty 
poor  hand  with  pen  and  ink,  but  I  '11  do  my 
best.  I  'd  like  mighty  well  to  hear  from  you," 
he  added,  looking  at  her  intently.  Then  with 
a  final  "  Good-by — till  next  time,"  he  left  the 
room. 

Bessie  turned  to  Mrs.  Ramsdell  after  he 
went  out,  and  said:  "  I  think  he  's  wonderful. 
I  wish  I  could  see  him  '  do '  London." 

"  I  'm  afraid  it  will  spoil  him,"  replied  Mrs. 
Ramsdell. 

"  I  don't,"  Bessie  stoutly  declared.  "  He 's 
too  big  and  true-hearted  to  be  spoiled  by  any 
thing." 


II 

THE   BIG  CANOE 

JIM  left  Chicago  in  the  evening,  and  did  not 
see  much  of  the  country  till  he  was  well  on 
into  Ohio  next  day.  There  he  was  amazed 
at  the  number  of  towns.  No  sooner  was  the 
engine  done  ringing  for  one  than  another 
flashed  into  view.  The  State  seemed  all  low 
and  marshy  to  him.  He  had  the  feeling  of 
one  who  is  descending  to  the  base  of  the 
world.  The  sea-level  was  to  him  merely  a 
fixed  point  from  which  to  measure  the  high 
places  of  the  earth.  That  people  lived  there 
he  now  began  to  realize,  and  he  wondered 
how  they  endured  the  damp,  close  air.  He 
understood  also  that  the  whole  trip  was  a 
descent  from  the  high  country  he  loved  so 
well. 

He  saw  very  little  of  New  York,  for  it  was 
late  when  he  arrived  at  Jersey  City,  and  he 
took  a  car  at  once  for  a  famous  old  hotel  on 

23 


24  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

Broadway.  He  breakfasted  at  eight,  and  im 
mediately  thereafter  boarded  a  car  for  the 
dock.  From  the  vantage-ground  of  the  back 
platform  he  surveyed  the  town.  With  the 
offhand  freedom  of  a  countryman  he  remarked 
upon  the  age  of  the  buildings  and  upon  the 
primitiveness  of  the  horse-cars  which  tinkled 
along  on  the  cross-town  circuit. 

"  We  would  n't  ride  in  such  a  car  in  Wagon 
Wheel  Gap,"  he  said  to  the  conductor,  who 
defended  the  city  vigorously. 

"We  're  putting  in  electricity,"  he  replied. 
"I  '11  admit  these  cars  are  pretty  ' yaller,'  but 
we  're  layin'  'em  off  as  fast  as  we  can." 

"  How  close  do  you  go  to  the  big  canoe  ?  " 

"The  what?" 

"  The  steamboat.  I  'm  on  my  way  to  take 
the  steamboat  for  England." 

"What  line?" 

"  Well,  now  you  've  got  me.  I  did  n't  know 
there  was  more  than  one.  The  name  of  the 
boat  is  the  King  George." 

"  Oh,  the  Red  Cross  Line." 

"  I  believe  that  is  her  brand." 

"  Oh,  that 's  very  near.  You  Ve  from  the 
West,  I  guess?" 

"  I  am,  and  I  wish  I  was  back  there  this 


THE  BIG   CANOE  25 

minute.  I  never  was  so  lonesome  in  my 
life." 

"  Oh,  New  York  's  not  so  bad  when  you 
get  used  to  it,"  replied  the  conductor,  good- 
naturedly. 

"  Oh,  I  could  stand  New  York  all  right ; 
it  's  the  ocean  that  makes  my  brussles  point 
the  wrong  way.  It 's  a  great  big  proposition 
for  a  land-crab  like  me." 

As  he  neared  the  boat  Jim's  blood  quick 
ened  a  little  at  the  great  confusion  and 
clangor  going  on  in  the  "station,"  as  he 
called  the  wharf.  Cabs  were  clattering  up  to 
drop  women  and  children  and  bags  and  bun 
dles.  Express-wagons,  piled  high  with  trunks, 
were  lined  up,  waiting  a  chance  to  unload, 
while  men  with  hand-trucks  were  running 
about  like  ants,  fastening  on  baggage  with 
intent  and  unhurried  action.  The  clatter  of 
their  trucks  was  like  the  sound  of  a  storm. 
Cries  and  commands  echoed.  Out  of  the 
vast,  dim  cavern -shed  two  or  three  doorways 
opened  to  the  left,  and,  approaching  them, 
Jim  found  what  he  called  "chutes"  leading 
to  the  ship,  which  towered  in  majestic  impas 
sivity  beside  the  wharf.  It  had  the  bulk  of  a 
mountain  and  the  lines  of  a  Siwash  canoe. 


26  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

The  mountaineer  swore  softly  as  he  com 
prehended  the  bigness  and  the  beauty  of  the 
boat  He  had  expected  something  grand  and 
powerful,  in  harmony  with  the  sea-waves  it 
had  to  fight;  but  the  reality  was  far  beyond 
his  conception  of  what  it  should  be.  For 
some  time  he  stood  about  watching  the  peo 
ple  stream  up  the  gangway.  There  seemed 
to  be  hundreds  of  them,  all  happy,  well  dressed, 
and  for  the  most  part  young.  Afar  down  ap 
peared  other  crowds  of  poorer- dressed  people. 
"The  second-class  passengers,  I  reckon,"  he 
remarked  to  a  man  with  a  couple  of  small 
children. 

It  was  all  vastly  interesting  and  confusing 
to  a  man  of  solitudes,  but,  after  referring  to 
his  card  of  instructions  from  Mrs.  Ramsdell, 
Jim  had  a  blue  label  pasted  on  his  trunk,  hired 
a  deck-chair,  and  got  his  valise  into  his  state 
room,  which  turned  out  to  be  a  little  smaller 
than  a  miner's  dugout,  and  not  much  bigger 
than  a  coffin.  This  ended  his  preparations, 
and  settling  down  on  the  edge  of  his  "bunk," 
as  he  called  it,  he  faced  the  emptiness  of  the 
moment.  A  great  void  seemed  to  settle  down 
over  him.  For  eight  days  he  would  have 
nothing  to  do  but  eat  and  sleep,  and  the  out- 


THE   BIG   CANOE  27 

look  was  appalling.  He  was  frankly  home 
sick  right  there,  and  would  gladly  have  laid 
down  his  hand  —  and  would  have  done  so 
had  he  been  "  playing  it  alone,"  but  there  was 
his  partner  and  the  little  girl. 

He  took  a  turn  about  the  boat,  which  was 
to  him  actually  "  palatial."  The  music-room, 
the  stairways,  the  dining-room,  were  com 
parable  in  their  glory  to  the  hotels  he  had 
seen  in  his  occasional  visits  to  Denver  and 
Chicago. 

"  It  's  all  pretty  rich  for  my  blood,"  he 
thought ;  "  but  it  don't  last  long." 

Eventually  he  drifted  out  upon  deck,  and 
stood  observing  the  excited  passengers,  who 
swarmed  restlessly  about,  surrounded  by 
throngs  of  friends  bidding  them  good-by. 

"  They  're  all  too  mighty  slick  for  any  good 
use,"  was  his  inward  comment ;  "  but  the  girls 
are  sure-enough  blooded  stock." 

A  tall  woman  standing  beside  him  had  a 
big  bunch  of  roses  in  her  hand,  and  their  odor 
came  to  his  senses  as  if  it  were  a  part  of  her 
own  regal  beauty.  Many  of  the  other  women 
were  to  him  as  artificial  as  colored  fashion- 
plates.  They  possessed  curious  little  affecta 
tions  of  voice  quite  new  to  Jim.  They  stood 


28  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

about  in  chattering  groups,  surrounded  by 
young  men  almost  equally  "smooth." 

"  Never  done  a  stroke  o'  work  in  their 
lives,  I  reckon,"  said  Jim  to  himself. 

However,  in  the  midst  of  these  excessively 
well-dressed  people  there  were  men  who  had 
the  manner  of  business  agents,  and  one  or 
two  of  them  looked  as  though  they  might  be 
from  the  West  or  South.  Jim  determined  to 
collar  one  of  these,  by  and  by,  for  the  sake 
of  an  acquaintance  —  some  one  to  talk  to. 

As  he  drifted  toward  the  back  end  of  the 
boat  he  came  in  close  sight  of  the  second- 
class  passengers.  "  There, "thought  he,  "these 
ax  z.  people.  They  're  human.  That  's  where 
I  should  be  —  save  fifty  dollars,  too."  He 
hung  about  this  end  of  the  boat,  feeling  dis 
tinctly  less  lonely  as  he  listened  to  the  talk 
going  on  among  them. 

They  acted  like  "folks."  They  wept,  and 
shouted  affectionate  incoherences  from  boat 
to  land,  and  the  eyes  of  many  of  the  women 
were  inflamed  with  tears.  Some  of  them 
sniveled  and  were  not  ashamed,  and  whole 
families  set  up  a  wail  as  the  gang-plank  began 
to  be  drawn  off.  Jim  could  understand  such 
people;  but  those  "smooth  ones"  forward 


THE  BIG   CANOE  29 

were  alien,  quite  alien.  Where  work  was, 
where  heads  were  grizzled  and  backs  bent, 
there  Jim  was  at  home ;  but  these  finely 
gowned,  cold- faced  women  he  could  not  com 
prehend,  although  their  beauty  appealed  to 
his  highest  taste.  One  scornful  creature 
seemed  to  be  holding  a  reception  like  a  po 
litical  candidate  at  a  country  fair.  She  was 
surrounded  by  men  with  arms  filled  with  roses, 
and  her  manners  were  those  of  a  queen. 

At  last  the  clangor  of  the  gong  started 
these  groups  into  tepid  embraces  and  polite 
kisses.  They  all  parted  gracefully,  without 
red  eyelids  or  grimaces  of  uncontrollable  grief. 
One  by  one  they  passed  down  the  runway 
waving  their  gloved  hands,  while  the  outgo 
ing  ones  took  their  places  at  the  rail  to  wave 
them  adieu  with  dainty  handkerchiefs.  Sin 
gularly  enough,  all  the  prettiest  girls  stayed 
in  New  York,  or  so  it  seemed  to  Jim;  only 
the  plain  ones  and  the  old  women  remained 
on  board.  He  was  astonished  to  see  how 
few  people  of  any  kind  remained.  "  I  reckon 
they  're  like  me,"  he  thought.  "  Like  to  make 
a  bluff  at  going,  but  mighty  glad  to  get  off." 

Slowly,  stupidly,  majestically,  the  great 
craft  sidled,  slid,  and  edged  away  from  her 


30  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

moorings,  churning  the  water  into  foam  with 
her  spasmodic  efforts  at  getting  under  way, 
while  the  throng  on  the  wharf  cheered  and 
waved  hats  and  handkerchiefs.  Pale  and 
tearful  faces  were  uplifted  here  and  there,  the 
voices  sounding  faint  and  fainter ;  and  at  last 
there  was  silence  on  the  boat,  and  the  close- 
packed  wharf  looked  like  a  dark-purple  robe, 
with  flecks  of  terra-cotta  where  the  bared 
foreheads  of  the  men  appeared. 

The  ship,  once  in  good  steering  way,  began 
to  utter  breath  like  a  powerful  but  reluctant 
draft-horse.  The  water  began  to  hiss  away 
from  her  black  sides,  and  the  quiver  of  audi 
ble  effort  ran  through  her  vast  bulk.  She 
was  warming  up  for  her  long  run  across  the 
gray  floods,  resolute  and  wary. 

As  the  land  of  his  flag  fell  away  into  the 
midst  of  the  sky-line,  leaving  only  the  vivid 
sun  and  the  shining  sea,  it  almost  seemed  to 
Jim  as  though  he  were  again  on  the  alkali 
plains  of  Utah.  The  dazzling  light,  the  low 
horizon-line,  the  enormous  sky  filled  with 
sparse  clouds,  made  up  a  world  like  that  where 
a  cloudless  heaven  forever  arches  a  change 
less  desert.  The  sky  did  not  seem  strange ; 
it  seemed  natural  in  beauty.  At  the  same 


THE  BIG  CANOE  31 

time  it  reminded  him  of  the  splendors  he  was 
leaving  behind.  All  that  was  familiar  and 
trustworthy  was  back  there,  where  the  sun 
was  sinking.  To  the  east  lay  the  unimagi 
nable,  the  dangerous,  and  the  wearisome ;  and 
a  feeling  of  timidity  came  over  his  bold  heart : 
this  water  world  was  dangersome. 

In  a  short  time  a  great  change  took  place 
in  the  looks  of  the  passengers.  Men  appeared 
in  short  coats  and  sailor-caps;  the  women 
grew  gayer,  plainer,  more  human,  as  they 
laid  aside  their  street  dress  and  came  out  in 
deck  costume.  A  rush  to  secure  the  best 
seats  in  the  dining-room  took  place,  and  the 
choice  locations  for  chairs  on  deck  were  being 
taken  up ;  but  Jim  scorned  to  take  any  part 
in  these  scrambles,  and  accepted  with  resig 
nation  whatever  came  his  way.  "  I  reckon 
I  '11  get  my  share  someway  without  rushing 
for  it,"  he  said  to  a  steward. 

There  were  stewards  for  chairs,  state-room 
stewards,  stewards  who  presided  on  deck, 
over  the  boats,  over  the  baths.  They  were 
all  disttessiagly_,co_urLeQiis  and  ready  to  help 
anybody  and  in  any  way  —  for  a  considera 
tion,  as  Jim  well  understood. 

The  dining-room  was  very  gay  that  night, 


32  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

every  seat  being  filled.  Jim  found  himself 
between  two  old  women  and  opposite  two 
children.  Being  in  no  mood  to  talk,  he  cared 
very  little  who  his  seat-mates  were,  but  ate 
a  good  meal,  and  went  up  on  deck  to  watch 
the  sun  go  down.  The  west  was  filled  with 
great,  heavy  April  clouds,  piled  in  masses 
like  mountains,  and  Jim's  throat  closed  tight 
with  a  homesick  ache.  When  he  looked  to 
the  east  a  feeling  of  awe  fell  upon  him,  as  he 
realized  that  the  ship  was  rushing  each  mo 
ment  away  from  land  into  a  gray  sea. 

He  stayed  on  deck  until  the  sea  grew  dark, 
musing  more  deeply  on  life  than  ever  before. 
He  had  a  deep-seated  feeling  that  this  trip 
marked  an  epoch  in  his  life,  but  he  had  no 
foreknowledge  of  success.  On  the  contrary, 
he  perceived  in  all  its  fantastic  bulk  the  folly 
of  sending  an  old  pickax  like  himself  on  such 
an  errand. 

As  he  got  out  of  bed  next  morning  he  felt 
queer.  He  had  slept  well,  and  until  a  few 
moments  before  rising  was  vigorous  and 
happy  ;  but  as  he  stood  before  his  mirror  a 
giddy  and  joyless  feeling  swept  over  him. 
His  solid  footing  was  gone.  The  boat  had  a 
complex  movement  —  not  violent,  but  difft- 


THE  BIG   CANOE  33 

cult.  As  he  went  down  the  corridor  he  stag 
gered  like  a  drunken  man,  and  the  close  air 
of  the  passageway  ran  into  his  veins  like 
poison. 

"  Great  snakes  !  I  'm  in  for  it! "  he  groaned 
as  he  returned  to  his  bunk.  "  I  'm  sick  as  a 
horse  first  crack  out  o'  the  box." 

He  was.  His  stomach  closed  up  like  a 
rubber  bag,  and  for  four  days  refused  all 
nourishment,  rejecting  even  a  drop  of  water. 
It  became  a  place  of  burning  and  of  trouble. 
For  four  days  and  four  nights  he  lay  in  his 
ill-smelling  little  room,  as  querulous  as  a  babe, 
while  the  steward  and  the  ship's  doctor 
worked  over  him  with  perfunctory  sympathy. 
They  tried  him  with  sedatives  and  cordials 
and  cathartics  and  bromides,  all  to  no  pur 
pose.  His  poor  digestive  sack  rejected  them 
all.  Each  hour  of  agony  seemed  a  day,  each 
day  a  month,  each  night  a  year.  To  add  to 
his  suffering,  his  companion,  a  fat  traveling 
man,  snored,  and  there  were  times  when  Jim's 
wrath  became  maniacal.  He  rose  once  and 
clutched  the  sleeper  with  a  hand  of  iron. 
"  Pardner,  I  'd  hate  to  kill  you,  but  there  are 
limits ;  turn  over  and  shut  up." 

The  scared  drummer  abjectly  apologized. 


34  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

for  he  had  a  notion  that  Jim  was  a  "  bad  man" 
from  the  wild  West.  By  day  the  mountain 
eer  lay  utterly  alone,  hearing  the  creak  and 
jar  of  the  ship,  the  tiger-clutch  and  snarl  of 
the  waves  outside,  enduring  at  once  the  ago 
nies  of  death  and  solitary  confinement,  while 
the  daylight  paled  out  of  his  little  cell,  and 
night  came  to  bring  new  smells  and  new 
noises.  His  bunk  was  narrow  and  high,  and 
his  blankets  regularly  rolled  out  on  the  floor. 
The  only  fresh  air  that  came  to  him  fell  upon 
his  face,  filling  his  throat  and  lungs  with  in 
flammation  ;  and  each  night  his  companion 
developed  new  powers  of  snoring.  Each  time 
the  ship's  doctor  came  he  tried  a  new  remedy, 
always  with  the  same  failure.  "Wall,  wall," 
he  said,  "  you  are  sairtainlie  seasick,  mon." 

As  the  days  wore  on,  the  creak  of  the  ship 
became  as  great  a  torment  as  his  inflamed 
stomach  and  aching  head.  He  could  hear 
the  water  slash  and  churn  like  brine  in  a  barrel, 
and  that  wore  upon  him  also. 

"  Curse  the  idiotic  thing,  won't  it  never  let 
up ! "  he  groaned  as  the  doctor  bent  over  him 
in  genuine  pity  on  the  third  day. 

"  Keep  your  heart,  mon ;  ye  '11  soon  be 
over  it." 


THE  BIG   CANOE  3* 

Once  the  mountaineer  staggered  up  on  deck 
and  looked  out  on  the  cold  gray  sea ;  but  as 
he  felt  the  graveyard  chill  of  the  cabin,  he 
crept  back  to  his  dank,  dark  hole  —  it  was 
less  cheerless  than  the  upper  ship.  For  com 
fort  he  fixed  his  inward  eyes  on  the  brilliant 
sun,  the  splendid  peaks,  the  singing  streams 
of  the  high  country,  and  he  fairly  wept  with 
agony  of  longing. 

"  If  God  lets  me  live  to  see  old  Ouray,  I 
never  '11  leave  it  again." 

He  could  not  think  of  food,  not  even  of 
toast,  without  loathing.  The  merry  clangor 
of  the  bugle  calling  to  meals  came  to  be  re 
pulsive  to  him.  It  mocked  at  him,  voiced  the 
indifference  of  those  who  were  sea-tested,  and 
it  belittled  him.  The  world  of  water  became 
absolutely  hellish  in  his  eyes.  What  a  fool  he 
had  been  to  leave  the  springtime,  the  growing 
grass,  the  fresh  winds  of  Colorado,  for  this ! 
Lying  there,  he  felt  his  utter  helplessness  ta 
do  the  work  demanded  of  him. 

There  was  no  place  on  the  ship  to  rest 
or  get  warm.  It  was  an  enormous  ice-box 
plunging  through  a  desolate  and  senseless 
waste  of  brine.  The  passengers  sat  about 
like  dyspeptic  ravens,  the  women  drawn  and 


36  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

yellow  of  visage,  the  men  savage  and  sullen. 
The  library  resembled  a  parlor  wherein  a 
country  funeral  was  about  to  be  held ;  the 
sparse  occupants  were  like  the  first  assembly 
of  mourners.  From  all  this  Jim  was  glad  to 
flee  even  to  his  ill-smelling  little  cistern, 
wherein  he  knew  every  knot  and  every  curtain- 
spot.  Would  it  never  end,  that  idiotic  repeti 
tion  of  the  same  noise,  that  foolish  wabbling  ? 
Talk  of  the  dignity  of  the  ocean  !  It  had  no 
dignity ;  it  was  the  plaything  of  the  wind. 
But  the  range,  oh,  God  !  the  glory  of  the 
Needle  Peaks,  whose  waves  endure  for  ages, 
whose  granite  walls  ride  through  every  storm 
in  steadfast  and  unshakable  majesty  !  "  Let 
me  get  back  to  the  high  country  ! "  was  the 
cry  of  his  soul.  He  was  comforted  by  the 
thought  of  Bessie,  whose  timid  eyes  had 
studied  him  so  flatteringly.  Often  the  recol 
lection  of  her  smile  stilled  the  curses  on  his 
lips  and  made  him  forget  the  chill  of  his  cell. 

If  he  could  only  have  a  friend  to  sit  by  his 
bed;  if  Ramsdell  or  his  wife  —  or  —  or  that 
lovely,  sympathetic  girl — but  no;  he  was  con 
demned  to  lie  alone,  counting  the  creaking  of 
the  bolts,  the  swing  of  his  overcoat  on  its 
hook,  listening  to  the  passing  of  feet  and 


THE  BIG   CANOE  37 

the  pounding  rush  of  the  waves,  mocked  by 
the  clangor  of  the  bugle,  and  made  mad  by 
the  thought  of  the  long  days  to  come. 

Sometimes  when  his  mind  reverted  to  the 
Ramsdells'  cottage  and  to  Bessie,  he  set  his 
teeth  and  said :  "  I  '11  have  her  yet.  I  '11  carry 
this  thing  through,  and  then — "  But  he  never 
quite  articulated  the  remaining  words  of  the 
sentence. 

The  exquisite  line  of  her  pink  lips  and  the 
gleam  of  her  little  white  teeth  —  as  white  as 
those  of  a  young  wolf —  had  made  the  most 
vivid  impression  on  him.  Her  dainty  person 
ality  seemed  perfectly  expressed  in  the  purity 
and  sweetness  of  her  smile.  Feeling  his  own 
unworthiness,  he  hoped  to  reinforce  his  cause 
by  gaining  wealth.  "  Oh,  I  'm  down,"  he 
said  once,  aloud,  "  but  no  bones  broke.  I  '11 
get  up  sure  when  I  feel  dirt  under  foot." 

At  last  there  came  a  change  in  the  motion 
of  the  vessel :  it  ceased  to  pitch  and  began  to 
roll ;  and  his  poor  head  felt  the  change  in 
stantly.  He  dressed  as  quickly  as  possible 
and  staggered  up  on  deck  again.  It  was  just 
sunrise,  and  the  steward  was  resetting  the 
chairs  for  the  day.  The  sun  was  breaking 
out  of  a  deeply  cloudy  sky — the  blessed  sun  ! 


38  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

The  ocean,  dark  green,  solemn,  silent,  was 
rolling  in  long  swells,  over  which  the  boat  slid. 
Water  suddenly  seemed  good  to  think  of,  and 
he  drank  a  huge  glassful  with  feverish  eager 
ness.  Strange  to  say,  it  passed  into  his  veins, 
allaying  the  fever,  and  he  was  encouraged  to 
think  that  the  horrible  gnawing  of  his  vitals 
was,  after  all,  just  plain  hunger.  Staggering 
up  to  a  steward,  he  broke  forth  : 

"  Say,  see  here,  stranger,  if  you  'd  been  four 
days  without  grub,  what  would  you  break  in 
on?" 

The  steward  touched  his  cap. 

"  I  think,  sir,  a  cup  of  gruel  will  do  you  the 
most  good,  sir.  I  '11  fetch  it  directly." 

"I  '11  be  mighty  obliged,"  said  Jim,  and 
reeled  to  a  chair,  with  the  resignation  of  a 
gambler  who  has  staked  all  upon  the  red. 

The  gruel  came  near  tasting  good,  and  in 
five  minutes  Jim  was  able  to  sit  erect.  He 
took  a  seat  in  the  sun  far  aft,  and  with  a  fixed 
grinning,  like  a  feeble-minded  inmate  of  the 
county  poorhouse,  anxiously  awaited  the  out 
come.  He  grew  stronger  with  great  rapidity. 
The  world  brightened,  the  sun  came  out  and  lay 
over  him  like  a  golden  coverlet.  It  was  the 
same  old  sun  that  shone  upon  Colorado  and 


THE  BIG  CANOE  39 

upon  Aspen  Park,  after  all.  The  deep-blue 
sea  began  to  glitter,  and  the  rush  of  the 
waves  no  longer  added  to  his  misery.  One 
by  one  other  sad-visaged  men  and  haggard 
women  crept  up  the  stairway  and  lay  about 
in  chairs,  blinking  like  toads  freshly  thrown 
into  the  light.  The  bugle  sounding  for  break 
fast  was  less  mocking  ;  his  gorge  did  not  rise 
at  it,  and  he  determined  upon  a  real  meal. 
As  he  entered  the  dining-room  the  waiter  took 
a  personal  interest  in  him.  "  Good  morning, 
sir ;  glad  to  see  you  up  again,  sir." 

"  I  'm  mighty  glad  to  be  up,"  replied  Jim. 
"  I  have  n't  troubled  you  much  for  four  days, 
have  I?" 

"  No,  sir ;  we  missed  you,  sir.  Wat  '11  you 
'ave,  sir?" 

"Make  it  eggs  on  toast;  and,  say,  add  a 
strip  of  bacon  to  it  —  I  jest  nacherly  believe  I 
can  eat  it." 

While  the  waiter  was  gone  the  mountaineer 
studied  the  suggestive  little  corrals  in  which 
the  dishes  were  placed  in  order  that  the  roll 
ing  of  the  boat  should  not  send  them  to  the 
floor.  "Nice  way  to  eat,"  he  thought :  "  about 
as  comfortable  as  takin'  dinner  on  top  of  a 
'bus." 


40  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

The  bacon  proved  to  be  an  inspiration,  for 
it  carried  Jim  back  to  the  trail.  It  had  in  it 
the  smoke  of  a  thousand  camp-fires,  and  it 
cleared  away  the  last  trace  of  his  illness. 
He  ate  it  all,  every  scrap  of  it,  and  desired 
more,  but  had  sense  enough  to  rise  from  the 
table  hungry,  content  to  let  well  enough 
alone. 

Quite  at  peace  with  the  world  for  the 
moment,  he  went  on  deck  and  watched  the 
other  passengers  as  they  crawled  up  like 
torpid  crickets  from  below,  expanding  into 
cheerfulness  and  spasmodic  chirping  under 
the  beaming  sun.  Each  woman  said,  "  Is  n't 
it  a  lovely  morning  ?  "  and  plump  old  gentle 
men  put  their  heads  together  like  couples 
of  fighting-cocks,  and  held  jerky  dialogues 
concerning  breakfast  and  the  quality  of  the 
cigars  which  the  boat  carried.  Girls  who 
looked  like  wax  figures  to  Jim,  and  who 
talked  in  tones  as  much  a  matter  of  fashion  as 
their  dresses,  began  to  appear  and  to  walk 
up  and  down  the  deck  with  young  men  in 
very  new  yachting-shoes  and  very  gay  short 
coats.  The  day  grew  steadily  brighter  and 
the  sea  less  to  be  dreaded. 

However,  it  did  not  interest  Jim  very  much; 


THE  BIG   CANOE  41 

it  was  all  too  far  removed  and  too  artificial 
for  his  liking.  It  seemed  to  him  that  to  be 
interested  in  the  sky  and  the  sea,  as  the  other 
passengers  pretended  to  be,  was  an  affectation ; 
they  were,  in  fact,  much  more  concerned  over 
their  costumes.  Again  he  found  that  the 
"real  folks"  were  to  be  seen  at  the  after  part 
of  the  ship,  and  standing  at  the  rail,  he  made 
some  very  pleasant  acquaintances  with  hard- 
fingered  old  men  who  were  returning  to  Eng 
land  or  Scotland  or  Ireland  on  a  visit  after 
years  of  labor  in  America.  They  were  all 
hearty  and  communicative. 

As  he  sat  contemplating  the  sunny  sky, 
which  grew  each  moment  more  and  more 
luminous  and  comforting,  Jim  observed  a 
man  with  a  cow-boy  hat,  which  he  wore  pulled 
low  down  on  his  head.  Jim  was  interested 
in  him  because  he  dared  to  wear  such  a  som 
brero  when  every  one  else  wore  a  cap.  Thus 
far  the  mountaineer  had  not  spoken  a  single 
word  to  any  of  his  fellow-passengers ;  but 
seeing  this  man  almost  as  lonely  as  himself, 
he  spoke  to  him  as  he  was  passing : 

"  Pardner,  where  did  you  meet  up  with  that 
hat?" 

The  stranger  stopped  instantly  and  pride- 


42  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

fully  grinned.  "  In  Denver ;  I  bought  it  to 
wear  on  me  ranch,  you  know,"  he  replied  with 
a  strong  English  accent 

"Is  that  so !  Well,  I  'm  from  Colorado 
myself,"  said  Jim. 

The  stranger  was  very  much  interested. 
He  was  English,  but  of  a  peculiar  confiding 
sort  that  one  occasionally  meets  with. 

"  Is  it  possible !  Fancy !  I  took  you  for 
a  New-Yorker,"  he  said. 

Jim  laid  a  finger  on  the  side  of  his  head. 
"That  's  due  to  the  cap.  Never  wore  one 
before,  never  expect  to  wear  one  again.  See 
here ;  you  don't  get  the  right  scorch  on  that 
hat.  This  is  the  way  you  want  to  do  it."  He 
whipped  off  the  hat,  and  struck  the  crown 
lightly  four  times,  till  it  stood  up  in  a  peak. 
"There,  that  's  the  trick,"  he  said,  as  he 
placed  it  back  on  the  young  man's  head.  "It 
ain't  the  clear  quill,  though :  the  crown  's 
too  flat.  I  worked  cattle  myself  for  five 
years." 

The  young  fellow  was  filled  with  instant 
admiration.  "  Where  was  your  ranch  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I  took  a  hand  all  along  the  line.  I  've 
punched  cattle  from  the  Panhandle  country 
clear  up  to  the  Bad  Lands,  and  once  I  crossed 


THE   BIG   CANOE  43 

over  to  the  Pecos,  worked  there  two  years, 
then  drifted  over  into  the  Lost  Park  country 
for  two  years." 

"  May  I  ask  how  you  happen  to  be  here  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I  just  thought  I  'd  take  a  whirl  across 
and  see  the  other  side,  just  for  greens,  as  the 
feller  says.  I  wish  I  had  n't  done  it,  as  Pete 
Gaven  said  when  he  roped  the  grizzly." 

"  Are  you  a  cattleman  —  I  mean  a  pro 
prietor  ?  " 

"No;  I  'm  only  a  miner,"  Jim  replied 
curtly. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  the  young  fel 
low,  who  perceived  that  Jim  was  not  ready 
to  discuss  his  private  affairs.  "  Here  's  my 
card." 

Jim  took  the  card,  which  presented  the 
name  of  "  Mr.  George  Arthur  Hastings,"  and 
cautiously  replied :  "  My  name  is  Matteson — 
Jim  Matteson  of  Wagon  Wheel  Gap,  Colo 
rado." 

The  young  Englishman  became  excited. 
"  Is  it  possible !  I  've  been  there ;  I  was 
there  last  October  —  put  up  at  the  Palace 
Hotel.  Beastly  bad  place,  but  I  stopped  a 
week." 

Jim  smiled.     "  My  hotel  was  made  out  of 


44  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

popple  slabs  and  set  into  the  side  of  the  big 
'  draw '  that  runs  just  west  of  the  town.  I 
was  taking  a  shy  at  placer-mining  just  then." 

"  You  are  a  practised  miner,  I  fancy  ?  " 

"  Well,  a  kind  of  a  one.  I  've  ranged  the 
hills  of  Colorado  off  and  on  for  five  or  six 
years,  if  that  makes  a  man  a  miner.  No,  I  'm 
a  prospector;  I  Ve  always  been  a  prospector; 
even  when  I  was  punching  cattle  I  had  my 
plans  for  striking  a  mine." 

"  Did  you  ever  really  find  one  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  Ve  found  mines  a-plenty  — 
generally  on  somebody  else's  land.  I  lost 
one  or  two  because  I  had  n't  money  to  fight 
contests."  Here  he  rose,  as  if  to  shut  off 
conversation. 

"  I  'm  very  glad  I  met  you,"  said  Hastings; 
"  I  hope  I  shall  be  able  to  talk  to  you  again. 
Are  you  to  be  in  London  long  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  don't  know.  You  see,  I  Ve  got 
a  mine  to  sell,  and  it  may  take  me  all  summer." 

"How  much  of  a  mine,  if  I  may  ask?" 
said  Hastings,  as  if  ready  to  buy  it  at  once. 

"  Well,  it 's  a  right  smart  piece  of  a  mine. 
I  'm  holding  the  half-interest  at  two  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  It  's  a  good  mine 
all  right,  all  right." 


THE   BIG   CANOE  45 

Hastings  sighed  regretfully.  "That  's 
quite  out  of  my  reach,  but  I  may  be  able  to 
help  you,  after  all.  I  know  some  fellows  with 
money  to  invest.  I  '11  be  glad  to  introduce 
you  to  them." 

"Much  obliged,"  said  Jim,  coldly.  "I 
reckon  I  '11  hit  a  hot  trail  as  soon  as  I  pre 
sent  some  letters  I  have." 

"Oh,  no  doubt;  but  I  would  like  my  friends 
to  have  a  chance." 

Jim  regarded  the  young  fellow  as  alto 
gether  too  easy  game.  It  was  like  going  out 
to  kill  a  mountain-sheep  and  having  the  thing 
turn  and  walk  right  down  the  hill  to  you. 
He  began  to  wonder  if  the  Englishman  were 
not  about  to  work  some  game  on  him.  He 
made  an  end  of  the  conversation  brusquely, 
and  turned  away. 

Dragging  his  chair  far  off,  he  lay  out  in  the 
sun  like  a  lizard  absorbing  heat,  his  eyes  on 
the  sky.  When  he  looked  at  the  great  clouds 
sailing  through  the  deep  blue  above  him  he 
could  easily  imagine  himself  on  the  Grizzly 
Bear  trail  once  more,  and  the  foam  which 
hissed  from  the  boat's  rushing  prow  was  not 
unlike  the  hurrying  waters  of  the  Uncom- 
pahgre.  The  mountain  world  was  coming  to 


46  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

have  a  beauty  which  he  had  never  definitely 
understood  before.  It  seemed  that  he  was 
leaving  it  forever  as  he  saw  the  ship  rush  into 
this  deep -blue  waste  hour  after  hour,  day 
after  day ;  and  yet  he  had  no  sense  of 
progress.  He  was  in  a  world  without  end 
and  without  change. 

During  the  afternoon  Hastings  came  round 
with  his  sister  —  a  plain  little  woman,  who 
also  had  been  very  seasick.  She  was  nice 
and  sympathetic,  and  deeply  interested  in  all 
the  stories  he  permitted  himself  to  relate 
about  the  wild  country.  She  was  quite  as 
homely  as  anybody's  hired  girl,  but  Jim  liked 
her  because  she  did  n't  pretend  to  either  style 
or  beauty. 

His  mind  dwelt  more  and  more  on  the  girl 
in  Aspen  Park,  who  had  blushed  so  furiously 
at  the  doctor's  hectoring.  He  was  not  accus 
tomed  to  girls  who  blushed,  and  Bessie's  color 
took  hold  of  his  fancy.  He  wished  he  could 
see  her  in  comparison  with  the  girls  saunter 
ing  about  the  deck.  She  was  so  much  more 
simple  and  modest  and  —  and  nice :  that  was 
as  near  as  he  could  come  to  phrasing  her 
charm. 

Aside  from  a  little  speech  occasionally  with 


THE  BIG   CANOE  47 

Hastings  and  his  sister  and  two  or  three 
of  the  second-class  passengers,  Jim  walked 
about  as  silent  as  an  owl  in  daytime.  The 
boat  continued  to  roll,  but  less  violently.  The 
waves,  big,  smooth,  and  colored  like  smoky 
topaz,  came  on  from  the  side,  and  the  ship 
seemed  to  slide  over  them  without  effort. 
The  passengers  did  a  great  deal  of  foolish 
walking  up  and  down  the  decks.  Jim,  who 
had  never  footed  it  for  exercise,  was  irritated 
by  this  promenading.  It  is  doubtful  if  he 
would  have  consented  to  walk  with  the  pret 
tiest  girl  on  board.  To  walk  for  pleasure  or 
for  exercise  was,  to  men  of  Jim's  world,  evi 
dence  of  unsound  mind. 

He  brooded  a  great  deal  on  the  strangeness 
of  the  plan  which  had  flung  him,  a  man  of 
camps,  mines,  and  cayuses,  into  these  singu 
lar  surroundings.  "It  's  enough  to  loco  a 
government  mule,"  he  muttered  to  himself. 

A  young  girl  seated  near  him  turned  her 
head  to  the  young  man  in  the  chair  beside 
her  and  laughingly  replied  to  a  question : 
"  Oh,  I  shall  go  down  to  Rome  in  May. 
London  is  impossible  till  June;  so  is  Flor 
ence.  I  think  I  '11  spend  January  and  Feb 
ruary  in  Egypt  or  Tunis." 


48  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

Jim  looked  at  her  with  wondering  abstrac 
tion.  She  was  about  the  age  and  "build" 
of  the  Aspen  Park  girl,  but  she  was  a  long 
way  from  having  the  same  simple  grace. 
Had  he  possessed  the  word  blase,  it  would 
have  risen  in  his  mind,  but  he  had  no  phrase 
to  express  his  conception  of  this  singular 
creature.  To  him  Rome  existed  only  in  school- 
books,  and  was  as  remote  as  the  river  Styx 
or  Mount  Olympus.  His  McGuffey  Readers, 
he  remembered,  had  pieces  of  prose  and  poe 
try  about  Rome  and  Egypt,  which  the  boys 
used  to  spout  with  awe ;  and  yet  here  was 
this  girl  who  seemed  to  be  saying,  "  I  '11  just 
saunter  round  by  way  of  purgatory  and  the 
New  Jerusalem,  and  winter  in  Rome."  Truly 
the  world  contained  people  to  puzzle  a  plain 
mountaineer.  His  thought  returned  to  the 
dainty  little  woman  in  Aspen  Park,  and  a 
singular  glow  came  into  his  heart  at  the  idea 
of  home,  chilled  by  the  thought  that  all  his 
work  and  half  his  journey  were  still  before 
him. 

He  became  inexpressibly  weary  of  the  sea. 
Its  ceaseless  slosh,  the  cold  wind,  the  roll  of 
the  boat  —  everything  tortured  him.  He  had 
nothing  to  do  but  think,  and  thought  came 


THE  BIG   CANOE  49 

at  last  to  circle,  like  a  milling  herd,  round  and 
round  to  no  purpose.  The  hours  again  grew 
long  —  not  so  long  as  when  he  was  confined 
to  his  foul  dungeon,  but  so  long  that  his  bones 
ached  with  their  slow,  deadly  drag.  It  was 
not  the  sweet  loneliness  of  the  trail ;  it  was 
inescapable  monotony. 

His  loneliness  threw  him  often  in  young 
Hastings's  company,  and  he  could  not  help 
running  into  talks  that  were  almost  confi 
dences.  He  had  never  been  so  long  sepa 
rated  from  friends  before,  and  it  produced  in 
him  a  bitter  melancholy  and  a  startling  sense 
of  weakness.  He  tried  to  be  civil  to  Miss 
Hastings,  but  found  it  difficult,  for  she  had 
an  irritating  habit  of  interrupting,  and  often 
threw  him  off  the  trail  by  her  unexpected 
remarks. 

"  Only  fancy ! "  she  would  interject  inop 
portunely,  her  big  gray  eyes  fixed  in  a  stren 
uous  stare  on  his  face.  Her  astonishment 
was  quite  usually  at  some  matter-of-course 
point  in  his  tales.  "  Fancy  that !  "  she  would 
say  to  Arthur,  or,  "There!  he  can  tell  where 
to  go  by  the  snow  on  the  peaks.  Is  n't  it 
wonderful  ?  "  when  the  point  of  his  story  had 
nothing  whatever  to  do  with  following  the 


50  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

trail,  which  was  a  mere  commonplace,  like 
saying,  "  I  went  down  the  street." 

Once  she  interrupted  him  to  say :  "  I  sup 
pose  living  is  very  dear  so  far  from  New 
York?" 

Jim  paused.  "Well,  that  depends  on  what 
you  eat.  There  's  always  a  little  game  even 
high  up,  and  bacon  and  beans  are  cheap." 

She  stared  fixedly.  "  Fancy  living  on  bacon 
and  beans !  Do  you  have  no  bread  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes  ;  sinkers." 

"I  beg  pardon?" 

"  Sinkers  —  dough-balls  —  skillet-bread. 
Flour  and  water  and  baking-powder  mixed 
and  baked  in  a  kittle  or  gold-pan." 

"  I  know  !  "  cried  Hastings.  "  I  Ve  seen 
the  cow-boys  baking  it." 

"  Bread  in  a  skillet  —  fancy  that,  Artie ! " 

Jim  grew  irritated.  "  That  's  not  the  point 
What  I  was  saying  was,  even  after  you  find 
the  '  float '  you  may  spend  weeks  hunting  for 
the  lode,"  etc.  He  never  was  quite  able  to 
complete  his  story  when  the  sister  was  pres 
ent,  and  ultimately  he  avoided  her. 

Hastings  himself  developed  much  admira 
tion  for  the  mountaineer.  "  You  must  let 
me  see  you  in  London,"  he  said  several  times. 


THE  BIG   CANOE  51 

"I  '11  put  you  down  at  my  club ;  and  then,  the 
governor  will  want  to  see  you  in  the  country." 

Jim  had  no  idea  of  what  was  involved  in 
being  put  down  at  a  club,  but  he  consented. 
"That  's  mighty  white  of  you,  old  man,  but 
I  don't  know  where  I  shall  make  down." 

Though  still  weak  and  ill,  he  could  not 
bring  himself  to  go  to  his  room  during  the 
day ;  but  as  night  came  on,  and  his  bones 
ached  with  the  weariness  of  waiting,  and  his 
brain  grew  numb  with  the  monotonous  swirl 
of  his  thinking,  he  crept  down  the  stairs 
again  like  a  lame  dog,  weary  and  downcast. 
That  close,  ill-smelling  little  den  came  to  seem 
worth  while  as  the  sea  grew  dark,  just  as  a 
gully  in  the  plains,  or  a  hollow  in  a  rock  be 
side  the  trail,  used  to  develop  a  wondrous 
homeliness  as  the  cold  dusk  fell  upon  him  and 
his  horse. 

His  release  from  pain  was  of  short  dura 
tion.  The  gray-green  liquid  over  which  the 
boat  rolled  began  again  to  boil  and  hiss  and 
swell,  and  the  ship  returned  to  its  old  tricks, 
and  creaked  and  slid  and  side-stepped,  and 
rose  and  fell  like  a  teeter-board,  and  up-ended 
like  a  rearing  bronco,  and  pitched  like  a  mule, 
nosing  deep  down  into  the  gloomy  hollows 


52  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

between  the  waves.  Jim  went  flat  on  his 
back  again.  "  My  heavens !  won't  it  never 
end  ?  "  he  muttered,  and  in  the  semi-darkness 
of  his  room  he  lay  in  disgust  too  great  for 
any  words. 

At  last  in  the  middle  of  the  night  he  woke 
with  a  start,  thinking  himself  in  his  shack 
beside  the  Grizzly  Bear.  The  vessel  was 
still,  so  still  that  he  did  not  remember  where 
he  was.  Then  it  began  to  reel  again  and 
shake ;  and  with  a  sudden  chill  at  his  heart, 
he  said,  "  Oh,  Lord !  I  'm  still  afloat."  But 
the  sea  was  growing  quiet,  and,  soothed  by 
the  changed  motion  of  the  ship,  he  fell  asleep 
again. 


Ill 

JIM   REACHES  LAND 

WHEN  he  woke  the  second  time,  people 
were  calling  to  each  other  with  a  note 
of  excitement  in  their  voices,  and  he  knew  that 
new  worlds  were  to  be  seen.  His  room-mate 
was  already  on  deck,  and  dressing  quickly,  Jim 
followed  him. 

"  Land  ho  !  "  was  the  joyous  cry. 

On  the  left,  treeless  hills  thrust  themselves 
boldly  into  the  sea.  They  were  brown,  with 
faint  patches  of  green  in  their  hollows.  "  That 
must  be  Ireland,"  said  Jim.  High,  gleaming 
stone  towers  rose  from  these  eminences  — 
lighthouses,  old  and  new,  Hastings  told  him. 
Soon  little  huts  could  be  seen,  and  stone  walls 
which  checkered  the  land  into  irregular 
squares.  The  cottages  thickened  into  clumps, 
looking  like  natural  rock  forms.  At  last  the 
fields  began  to  cover  the  hills,  and  growing 

53 


54 


HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 


grain  and  fresh-plowed  earth  betrayed  the 
farmer's  busy  care. 

"  So  that 's  Ireland  ?  "  mused  Jim.  "  Well, 
it 's  a  lonesome  country;  not  a  tree  in  sight." 

"  Every  inch  has  been  harrowed  by  human 
hands  for  centuries,"  volunteered  an  old  gentle 
man,  addressing  Jim  and  Hastings. 

"Poor  beggars!  No  wonder  they  go  to 
America  in  swarms,"  said  Hastings.  "  Still, 
it 's  not  so  lonely  as  the  plains." 

"  That 's  true,"  Jim  admitted.  "  But  then, 
you  don't  look  for  anything  different  on  the 
flats." 

The  tone  of  the  ship's  conversation  was 
utterly  changed.  Into  the  emptiness  of  the 
sea  something  worth  while  had  been  born. 
Laughter  could  be  heard  from  all  parts  of  the 
deck.  Field-glasses  were  focused  upon  every 
object  which  could  yield  amusement.  The 
mere  sight  of  hills  made  Jim's  blood  quicken. 
That  day  he  ate  his  second  full  meal. 

A  new  terror  now  confronted  the  moun 
taineer —  Liverpool  and  the  customs  officers. 
He  asked  Hastings  about  these  matters. 

The  young  fellow  seemed  vastly  pleased  to 
be  of  any  service. 

"I  '11  put  you  through,"  he  said.     "  It  's 


JIM   REACHES  LAND  55 

quite  simple,  you  know.  A  couple  o'  shil 
lings  and  the  thing  's  done.  You  '11  find  Liv 
erpool  quite  like  Chicago." 

It  happened  that  Jim  did  not  see  Liverpool 
at  all.  When  he  came  on  deck  the  next  morn 
ing  the  vessel  was  already  anchored  in  what 
seemed  to  be  a  muddy  river,  the  dim  shores 
of  which  were  enveloped  in  fog,  out  of  which 
bells  and  whistles  and  the  rumble  of  heavy 
wheels- came  in  ever-increasing  volume ;  and 
even  when  the  steamer  swung  alongside  the 
dock,  only  a  row  of  dingy  buildings  (which 
might  have  been  West  Chicago)  could  be 
seen  :  all  else  was  hidden  by  mist. 

Piloted  by  Hastings,  the  mountaineer  found 
his  way  into  the  huge  hall  wherein  the  bag 
gage  was  laid  out  for  inspection.  "  You 
want  to  look  after  your  own  luggage  and  see 
it  into  the  van  ;  we  have  no  checking  system 
like  yours,"  Hastings  explained  as  he  mounted 
his  pile  of  baggage  and  bawled  for  a  porter. 
All  about  the  place,  men,  women,  and  chil 
dren,  perspiring,  excited,  yet  resolute,  stood 
guard  over  piles  of  bags,  trunks,  shawl-straps, 
and  hat-boxes,  while  myriads  of  porters  moved 
about  like  deliberative  beetles,  and  fastened 
upon  variform  parcels  with  grimy  claws. 


56  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

Jim  "  caught  on  "  quickly,  and  clapping  a 
porter  on  the  back,  said :  "  See  here,  cap ; 
what  '11  you  take  to  get  my  baggage  out  upon 
the  railway-platform  ?  "  The  porter  mumbled 
something  in  reply  and  laid  hold  on  his  trunks. 
Jim  followed  him  out  to  the  platform.  "  Well, 
I  '11  be  hanged ! "  he  said  as  he  looked  at  the 
cars.  "  Is  this  a  narrow-gage  train  ? " 

"A  w'at,  sir?"  queried  the  porter,  who 
was  used  to  queer  Americans  and  remained 
stolidly  calm. 

"  Is  this  as  big  as  you  make  'em  ?  Do  they 
all  come  this  size?  Is  this  the  London  spe 
cial?" 

"  This  is  the  reg'lar  trine,  sir." 

"All  right,"  said  Jim,  seeing  the  porter's 
inability  to  comprehend  his  joke.  "  Go 
ahead.  What  's  the  next  ground-hop? 
Where  do  I  get  in  at?" 

Hastings  appeared  at  this  point.  "  Put 
your  luggage  on  here.  I  've  saved  a  seat  for 
you  in  this  coach." 

"  Don't  I  get  a  check  for  my  truck  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no ;  it  \yJl  be  all  right.  Just  make  a 
note  of  the  van,  hat 's  all." 

Jim  waved  hib  hand  at  his  trunk.  "  All 
right;  see  you  later  —  mebbe." 


JIM   REACHES   LAND  57 

The  porter  sidled  close  to  him.  "  I  siy,  sir, 
if  you  give  me  a  shillin',  don't  let  t'  old  man 
see  it ;  we  're  not  hallowed  a  tip." 

Jim  looked  round  at  "  t'  old  man,"  a  fussy, 
choleric,  childish  old  giant  who  was  bellowing 
useless  orders  to  the  hurrying  porters. 

"All  right,  pardner.  Wait  till  I  dig  up  a 
piece.  What  's  that  ?  Is  that  a  sixpence  ? 
Looks  to  me  to  be  worth  about  a  dime. 
How  's  this  ?  That 's  a  quarter,  I  take  it." 

"Thank  you,  sir;  much  obliged,  sir,"  said 
the  porter,  as  he  sidled  off  out  of  reac"h  of 
"  t'  old  man." 

Jim  gave  his  attention  to  the  train,  which 
was  a  long  row  of  little,  lightly  built,  dirty 
white  cars,  like  a  lot  of  stage-coaches  set  end 
to  end.  They  had  doors  only  on  the  side,  and 
the  seats  were  exactly  like  those  in  an  old 
Concord  coach.  On  one  side  a  minute  corri 
dor  ran  from  end  to  end  of  each  car,  but  it  was 
so  narrow  that  a  broad-shouldered  man  had 
to  go  side  wise,  "  like  a  hog  to  war,"  as  he  said. 

Jim  smiled  broadly,  and  taking  from  his 
pocket  a  circular,  re-read  to  Hastings  the 
words :  "  In  deference  to  ou:  American  travel 
we  have  put  on  a  superb  corridor-train  out 
fitted  in  the  American  fashion.  Travelers 


58  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

from  the  States  will  find  every  comfort  on 
these  fine  up-to-date  coaches." 

"  Why,  bless  'em,"  he  said  earnestly,  "  you 
could  put  this  pony-train,  wheels  and  all,  into 
the  Overland  Flier  on  the  Santa  Fe  or  North 
ern  Pacific ! " 

"  It  looks  small  to  me,"  confessed  Hastings ; 
"it  never  did  before.  But  this  is  not  the 
regular  coach,  you  know ;  it  is  quite  Ameri 
canized." 

"  I  'd  like  to  see  the  sure-enough  English 
train,"  replied  Jim. 

Meanwhile  the  excitable  little  engine  far 
down  the  track  uttered  little  squeaks  of  im 
patience  like  a  restive  colt,  till  Jim  shook 
with  laughter.  "  Is  the  engine  the  same 
breed  as  the  cars  ?  "  he  asked.  "  Its  nicker 
'pears  to  be  narrow-gage." 

Before  Hastings  could  answer,  the  con 
ductor  blew  a  sort  of  bicycle  whistle,  and 
the  brakeman  began  to  run  along  the  train 
and  slam  the  doors  shut.  Doubling  himself 
up,  Jim  got  into  a  "stall"  with  Arthur  and 
his  sister.  A  tall  and  gloomy  old  man  was 
already  seated  by  the  window,  with  a  plaid 
shawl  over  his  knees.  He  looked  with  dis 
favor  on  the  newcomers. 


JIM   REACHES   LAND  59 

"  How  many  does  each  pew  hold  ?  "  asked 
Jim. 

Hastings  smiled  feebly.  Jim's  humor  was 
making  an  impression. 

"Ten;  but  it  seldom  happens  that  more 
than  six  get  in." 

"It  's  for  all  the  world  like  the  stage  that 
goes  from  Wagon  Wheel  over  to  Williams 
Gulch." 

As  the  complaining  little  engine  drew  out 
into  the  city,  Jim  was  amazed  to  find  how 
much  like  Chicago  the  streets  were.  The 
atmosphere,  smoky,  foggy,  shut  close  over 
the  ugly  roofs  and  lay  along  the  grimy  walls. 
The  people  all  stopped  to  look  at  the  train, 
which  seemed  to  interest  them  almost  as 
much  as  though  it  came  only  once  a  year. 
For  nearly  half  an  hour  the  train  wandered 
through  gloomy  caverns  the  walls  of  which 
resounded  to  the  solemn  tolling  of  bells  —  on 
and  on,  till  at  last  green  fields,  flowery  trees, 
and  a  pale  sun  proclaimed  the  end  of  Liver 
pool  and  the  beginning  of  rural  England. 
Jim's  spirits  brightened.  The  sight  of  a 
tree  was  medicinal. 

A  white  mist  was  in  the  air.  The  wind 
was  cold,  but  the  fields  were  deliciously 


60  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

springlike,  and  the  mountaineer  fixed  his 
eyes  upon  them  with  great  joy.  The  land 
was  like  a  garden.  It  had  been  plowed  and 
harrowed  and  sandpapered  and  currycombed 
for  centuries ;  that  was  evident.  It  was 
every  inch  in  use ;  the  plow  ran  to  the  very 
door-step  of  the  little  brick  cottages,  and 
furrows  swirled  round  the  buttresses  of  the 
small  stone  churches.  Curving  roads,  as 
smooth  as  asphalt,  led  between  fields  outlined 
by  hedges.  On  the  green  slopes  sheep  lay 
scattered,  looking  like  gray  boulders.  Over 
all  fell  a  sickly  sunlight.  A  cold  wind  blew 
in  at  the  window. 

"  It  's  a  good  deal  the  way  I  expected  it  to 
look,"  said  Jim  to  Hastings.  "  But,  say,  your 
freight- trains  cork  me  up,"  he  broke  out  as 
they  passed  a  string  of  "  goods-vans "  laden 
with  hay  and  brick  and  coal.  "  They  're 
nothing  but  carts  —  drays.  Look  at  that 
one  carrying  coal.  Must  have  as  much  as  a 
ton  and  a  half  on.  Look  at  the  tall  wheels ! 
Makes  me  think  of  a  long-legged  boy  in 
knickerbockers." 

The  tall  old  gentleman  in  the  corner  glared 
at  Jim,  and  Hastings  grew  a  little  nervous. 

The  country  genuinely  interested  the  miner. 


JIM   REACHES   LAND  61 

He  studied  it  carefully.  Everything  he  saw 
was  the  direct  antitype  of  Colorado.  The 
little  rivers  wound  through  the  valleys,  as 
submissive  as  canals  between  their  carefully 
ordered  banks.  The  woods  were  parks,  the 
hills  looked  like  artificial  mounds  built  to 
diversify  a  public  garden.  The  hedges  were 
barbered,  the  brooks  walled  with  stone,  the 
marshes  drained. 

"  This  country  is  too  slick  for  me,"  said  Jim, 
with  a  sigh,  turning  to  Hastings.  "  No  place 
to  hide.  Could  n't  build  a  camp-fire.  Think 
of  livin'  where  you  can't  set  foot  outside  a 
road  without  gettin'  into  some  old  woman's 
garden-truck.  There 's  a  feller  sowing  wheat 
by  hand !  Have  n't  seen  that  since  I  was  a 
kid.  It 's  all  too  purty  f  r  me,  too  blame  nar 
row  and  slow.  There  's  a  straw-covered 
shack  — - '  thatched  'is  it  ?  Well,  by  ging !  I 
did  n't  expect  to  run  on  to  that.  Used  to 
read  about  it  in  McGuffey's  Fourth  Reader. 
What  if  a  spark  should  lodge  in  it  some  dry 
day ;  or  mebbe  it  never  gets  dry  here  ?  " 

"  They  burn  up  sometimes.  There  are  not 
many  of  them,  as  you  see.  They  're  passing 
away,"  Hastings  explained. 

The  old  man,  who  had  been  looking  at  Jim 


62  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

with  mingled  curiosity  and  disapproval,  now 
contemptuously  remarked  in  a  nasal  snarl : 

"  If  you  don't  like  England,  young  man, 
you  know  what  you  can  do." 

Jim  smiled.  "  I  do ;  I  can  get  out.  I  shall. 
Don't  worry,  my  Christian  friend.  I  'm  not 
rooted  here." 

The  old  gentleman  returned  to  his  paper, 
and  Miss  Hastings  threw  in  a  gentle  word : 
"  If  we  all  wished  to  live  in  England  it  would 
be  very  uncomfortable,  would  n't  it  ?  " 

"That 's  so,"  said  Jim.  "  I  'd  hate  to  see 
England  all  moving  into  Colorado  ;  it 's  get 
ting  tame  and  populous  too  rapidly  as  it  is." 

And  then  peace  fell  upon  the  group. 

After  a  long  silence  Jim  said :  "  Reckon 
I  '11  have  to  revise  my  remarks  about  this 
train.  It  's  shufflin'  along  like  a  house  afire. 
It  's  little  and  it  's  squeaky,  but  it  gets 
there." 

Hastings  pointed  out  famous  ruins  and 
sites  of  historical  happenings,  and  the  moun 
taineer  replied  in  each  case,  "  You  don't  say  !  " 
or  "Is  that  so  ? "  but  his  voice  betrayed  no 
interest.  It  was  of  no  value  to  him  to  point 
out  an  oak  and  say,  "  Once  a  castle  stood 
there." 


JIM   REACHES   LAND  63 

"If  you  're  bankin'  on  your  age,"  he  said 
finally,  "  I  can  take  you  to  places  in  Colorado 
and  New  Mexico  that  the  Smithsonian  sharps 
say  were  old  when  Pharaoh  was  king  down 
there  in  Egypt.  That 's  what  they  tell  me. 
I  'm  not  insuring  it.  But  I  know  I  've  seen 
ruined  cities  where  the  streets  were  lined  with 
trails  six  inches  deep  in  solid  rock,  worn  by  the 
moccasined  feet  of  the  people  that  lived  there. 
And  I  've  been  in  the  caves  in  the  lava  of  a 
volcano  in  Arizona  where  the  hairy  man  lived. 
That 's  what  /  call  an  old  town.  If  you  Ve 
got  anything  that  beats  that,  trot  it  out." 

It  was  evident  that  he  had  no  sense  of 
being  historically  connected  with  this  country, 
and  Hastings  was  rather  glad  of  it. 

The  train  rattled  along  steadily,  flashing 
through  towns  of  brick  every  few  minutes, 
and  winding  along  river  valleys  wherein  ran 
small  sluggish  streams,  through  fields  where 
slow-moving  men  with  teams  were  at  work. 
The  sky  began  to  fill  with  heavy  clouds,  and  the 
sun  fell  but  infrequently  upon  the  landscape. 

Sitting  so,  Jim  sobered  at  last,  for  he  be 
gan  to  realize  that  he  was  sweeping,  as  swift 
as  an  eagle's  flight,  down  upon  the  greatest 
center  of  human  life  in  the  world ;  and  to  a 


64  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

man  of  solitudes  nothing  is  more  appalling 
than  floods  of  men  and  women  crowded 
between  granite  walls.  He  had  no  other 
sentiment  about  London  —  its  age,  its  his 
tory.  Nothing  counted  but  its  masses  of 
human  souls,  its  welter  of  confusing  activities. 

Hastings  and  his  sister  got  out  at  Rugby 
Junction,  after  many  cordial  good  words  and 
repeated  invitations  to  Jim  to  come  down  and 
see  them  at  Heathcote. 

" Look  for  me,"  said  Jim ;  "I  '11  come  a-rack- 
in'  over  the  divide  some  o'  these  fine  days 
and  take  a  snack  out  of  you." 

Hastings  beamed  with  pleasure.  "  I  say, 
now,  that  will  be  worth  while.  We  shall  look 
for  you.  Let  me  know  your  London  hotel, 
won't  you  ?  " 

Jim  missed  these  good  people,  and  after 
they  got  out  he  rode  in  silence  with  the  old 
man,  who  dozed  in  his  corner,  waking  now 
and  again  to  clutch  at  his  plaid  shawl,  looking 
up  each  time  to  see  that  his  bag  had  not  been 
rifled  by  the  man  from  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
At  last  London  began  to  loom  as  a  dark 
presence,  and  with  a  warning  clang  the  train 
plunged  into  a  singular  yellow  obscurity,  and 
the  "trailer"  was  enveloped  in  a  London  fog. 


IV 

AFOOT   IN   LONDON 

be  "set  afoot"  on  the  plains  is  consid- 
JL  ered  by  a  cow-boy  to  be  a  dire  misfor 
tune,  for  the  reason  that  he  is  put  at  such 
great  disadvantage  with  the  concave  earth 
which  spreads  out  beneath  a  burning  hemi 
sphere  of  steel  and  glass.  The  horseman  has 
weak  limbs  for  walking,  anyhow,  and  Jim  was 
ill  fitted  to  cope  with  any  city,  much  less  with 
London.  His  first  instinct  was  to  "  hole  up  " 
somewhere,  and  watch  the  dangers  go  by. 
He  was  vastly  amused  by  the  wild  scramble 
for  baggage  which  took  place  after  the  train 
drew  into  the  station,  and  was  also  being  in 
structed  in  the  London  vernacular.  The  por 
ters,  the  cabmen,  and  the  ticket-clerks  all  said 
"wiy"for  way,  and  "nime"for  name.  When 
the  porter  handed  him  his  valise  he  said 
<(  Thank j/0#,"  and  when  Jim  gave  up  a  piece 
of  money  he  also  said  "  Thank  you"  and  both 
*  65 


66  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

phrases  were  uttered  in  a  voice  of  insolent 
imprecation. 

Hastings  had  told  Jim  to  go  to  the  Railway 
Hotel,  at  the  road's  end ;  and  this  he  did,  only 
to  find  it  "  full  up."  Leaving  his  trunk  in  the 
hall,  Jim  wandered  along  the  street  with  an 
eye  for  other  hotel  signs.  There  were  plenty 
of  them.  "  The  Teviot  House,"  the  "  Dun 
dee  Hotel,"  the  "Wessex  House,"  and  other 
names  calculated  to  appeal  to  the  country 
visitor  attracted  him.  He  was  particularly 
taken  with  the  Teviot  House,  which  faced  on 
a  little  parkway  and  had  a  little  clump  of 
bushes  on  each  side  of  the  door.  Upon  enter 
ing  the  hallway,  he  faced  a  tall  and  sleepy 
porter,  who  took  his  valise  with  a  yawning 
"Thank  your 

Jim  doubled  up  his  back  and  thrust  his  head 
in  at  a  little  window  where  a  severe  young 
woman  in  a  black  gown  confronted  him. 

"  Are  you  the  clerk  ?  " 

"  I  am,  sir ;  yes,  sir.  What  can  I  do  for 
you?" 

" Have  you  any  beds  left? " 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  have  one.  It 's  on  the  upper 
floor,  if  you  don't  mind." 

"  Anything  as  big  as  my  back  will  do,"  said 


AFOOT   IN   LONDON  67 

Jim ;  "  I  'm  not  so  particular  as  I  used  to  be. 
How  much  do  I  bleed?" 

"  I  beg  pardon  !  " 

"  What 's  the  price  of  the  bed  ?  " 

"  Three  and  six." 

"  Three  and  six  what  ?  " 

"  Shillings,  sir." 

"  All  right ;  it 's  a  whack." 

"  Thank  you.  Will  you  sign  your  name, 
please?"  He  signed.  "Thank  you"  she  re 
marked  briskly,  closing  the  book.  "Thomas, 
show  the  gentleman  to  his  room." 

"This  wiy,  sir,"  said  the  porter,  who  had 
also  discovered  Jim's  nationality. 

Everything  seemed  old  and  very  queer  to 
Jim  as  he  tramped  up  the  stone  stairway  to 
his  room ;  but  nothing  was  more  irritatingly 
unexpected  than  that  "  Thank  you"  to  which 
the  porter  gave  a  new  wrench  as  he  turned 
away. 

The  room  had  only  one  little  window,  which 
swung  on  hinges  at  the  side,  like  a  door;  and 
when  Jim  opened  it  a  savage  sound  entered. 
It  was  like  the  snarling  of  a  forest  of  cougars 
—  it  was  the  voice  of  London  !  He  shut  the 
window  hastily,  and,  being  worn  out  for  lack 
of  rest,  determined  to  go  at  once  to  bed. 


68  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

The  floor  seemed  to  be  in  motion,  like  the 
deck  of  a  ship,  and  his  brain  still  pulsated 
with  the  plashing  of  the  waves.  Flinging  off 
his  outer  clothing  merely,  the  mountaineer 
stretched  out  on  the  bed,  and  fell  at  once  into 
dreamless  sleep. 

When  he  awoke  there  was  only  a  gray 
light  in  his  room,  and  the  air  was  heavy. 
Pushing  the  window  open,  he  looked  out 
again  on  the  parkway,  on  the  farther  side  of 
which  great  gaudy  two-story  'buses  were 
rolling,  the  big  horses  pounding  along  at  a 
swift  trot.  Across  the  park  in  every  direc 
tion  hundreds  of  human  beings  were  moving 
like  flies,  not  distinguishably  different  in  any 
way  from  the  people  of  New  York  or  Chicago. 
Dressing  quickly,  Jim  started  down  the  stairs, 
hungry,  and  elated  because  of  his  hunger. 

"  Where  do  I  connect  with  the  grub  ?  "  he 
asked  of  the  clerk,  who  looked  at  him  with 
uncomprehending  stare  like  a  black-bug. 

"  I  beg  pardon,  sir  —  oh,  you  'd  like  break 
fast,  would  you,  sir  ?  " 

"That 's  my  next  intention." 

"  Step  right  into  the  coffee-room,  thank 
you." 

"Don't  mention   it,"  said  Jim,   not  to  be 


AFOOT   IN   LONDON  69 

outdone  by  this  English  clerk.  By  peering 
round  a  little  he  found  a  minute  sign,  "  Coffee 
Room,"  on  a  door,  and  entered  cautiously, 
prepared  for  assault. 

A  chuckle-headed  youth  in  a  low-cut  vest 
and  "steel-pen"  coat,  both  of  incredible  dir 
tiness  and  shininess,  led  him  to  a  seat  in  a 
small,  shabby  sort  of  parlor  looking  on  the 
park. 

"What  '11  you  'ave,  sir,  plain  breakfast  or 
meat  breakfast  ?  " 

"  Whichever  has  most  grub  into  it,"  Jim 
replied.  "  I  reckon  I  'm  due  to  try  a  meat 
breakfast." 

"Thaak>»*.M 

"  Oh,  not  at  all ;  I  '11  take  'em  both  if  it  '11 
help  you  out,"  Jim  replied,  profoundly  mysti 
fied  by  this  general  politeness,  which  had  a 
curse  in  it  somewhere  —  like  a  poison-fang  in 
a  beautiful  ring. 

The  waiters  began  to  signal  to  one  another : 
"  An  American  ;  a  jolly  queer  one,  too.  Watch 
him ! " 

Jim  looked  round  with  a  feeling  of  comfort. 
The  windows,  which  were  tall  and  filled 
with  old-fashioned  panes  of  glass,  looked  out 
on  a  lilac  or  two  and  a  black  iron  fence.  A 


yo  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

wan  sunlight  fell  into  the  room  and  lay  ex 
hausted,  hardly  pulsating,  on  the  floor.  At 
one  of  the  small  tables,  near  him,  an  elderly 
gentleman,  with  thick  side-whiskers  and  a 
broad,  red  face,  was  crumbling  a  roll  into 
his  coffee  while  reading  his  paper.  Occa 
sionally  he  bullied  the  waiter  in  a  voice  that 
was  fitted  to  incite  murder,  but  the  attendant 
remained  brisk,  handy,  unmoved.  Jim  looked 
for  trouble,  but  none  came.  Aside  from  one 
or  two  women  at  a  table  in  a  corner,  the  room 
was  empty.  It  was  too  early  for  the  regular 
guests. 

The  breakfast  did  him  a  great  deal  of  good ; 
even  the  jam  tasted  good.  The  surging  and 
swinging  had  passed  out  of  his  head,  and  he 
went  forth  into  the  street  ready  for  all  that 
came.  "  I  need  a  trail-map  first  ground-hop," 
he  said  to  himself,  while  passing  a  stationer's. 
He  bought  a  small  guide,  and  unfolded  it  on 
the  counter.  "  Lord !  she  's  a  sure-enough 
tangle,"  he  said  to  the  tradesman.  "  No  north 
or  south  to  this  thing.  Nothing  will  do  but 
to  get  the  lay  o'  the  land.  I  reckon  I  '11  make 
the  river  the  starting-point — that 's  the  way 
I  'd  do  in  a  new  country.  I  reckon  water 
runs  downhill  here  same  as  in  Colorado  ?  " 


AFOOT  IN  LONDON  71 

"  Quite  the  same  the  world  over,  sir," 
replied  the  tradesman,  smiling  pleasantly. 

Taking  his  course  as  nearly  as  possible, 
Jim  set  forth,  eying  his  surroundings  closely. 
"I  '11  just  blaze  a  tree  occasionally ;  I  may 
want  to  take  the  same  trail  back,"  he  said. 
The  two-story  'buses  filled  the  street,  and  he 
could  not  but  admire  the  big  horses  as  they 
strode  forward,  calm  yet  alert.  It  was  amaz 
ing  to  think  that  they  could  drag  such  im 
mense  vehicles.  The  little  policemen  in  their 
long-tailed  coats  had  a  comical  look ;  but  they 
were  on  duty,  and  it  was  evident  that  the 
drivers  knew  it,  for  their  lightest  motion  was 
heeded.  "They  must  carry  guns,"  thought 
Jim.  "They  're  too  little  to  do  harm  any 
other  way." 

For  nearly  two  hours  he  wandered,  seeking 
the  river,  threading  narrow  streets  filled  with 
screaming  children  and  women  moving  about 
like  squaws  wrapped  in  shawls,  and  at  last 
came  out  upon  St.  Martin's. 

Hundreds  of  cabs  and  gaudy  'buses  were 
sweeping  along  the  Strand,  which  was  a 
narrow  street,  he  found,  and  not  at  all  im 
posing.  Jim  turned  to  the  left,  and  walked 
slowly  along,  seeing  everything  which  took 


72  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

place.  The  people  struck  him  as  being  very 
small  and  dark.  The  women  were  quite  mea 
ger  and  bent.  The  "  stores  "  were  small,  the 
side  streets  narrow  and  queer,  with  big  stone 
buildings  in  vista. 

He  had  very  little  sense  that  the  city  was 
old  or  even  foreign.  New  York  would  have 
had  much  the  same  effect  on  him,  for  he  did 
not  approach  it  with  a  tourist's  bent  of  mind. 
He  had  no  reverence  whatsoever,  and  little 
historic  sense.  He  did  n't  know  and  he  did  n't 
care  what  the  city  had  been;  he  was  interested 
in  the  present. 

He  wandered  about  all  the  forenoon,  breast 
ing  the  streams  of  people,  and  studying  the 
shop-windows.  He  became  exceedingly  hun 
gry  by  twelve  o'clock,  and  stepped  into  a 
restaurant  near  a  big  bridge.  It  happened 
to  be  a  French  restaurant,  and  the  names  of 
all  the  dishes  were  not  only  in  French,  but  in 
bad  script,  and  Jim  was  quite  helpless. 

"  Make  it  a  beefsteak,"  he  exclaimed  in  de 
spair.  "  Make  it  a  big  one,  with  bacon  and 
coffee." 

As  the  waiter  brought  his  change  Jim 
looked  up  in  astonishment.  "  Is  all  that  gun- 
metal  mine  ?  "  he  asked  severely. 


AFOOT   IN   LONDON  73 

"  Your  change  —  yes,  sir." 

Jim  pawed  it  over.  "  Oh,  all  right ;  only 
I  don't  want  anybody  else's  discard  trunk- 
checks  palmed  off  on  me.  I  won't  stand  for  it. 
That  dollar  I  turned  in  must  have  oeen  over 
weight  to  bring  a  steak  and  bacon  and  coffee 
and  this  scrap-heap.  You  keep  the  coppers 
for  luck." 

"  Thank  you,  sir." 

It  was  a  hard  day.  He  had  a  queer  ache 
in  his  legs,  and  his  feet  pained  him  by  the 
time  he  got  back  to  the  Teviot  House.  He 
pondered  on  this  feeling  for  a  long  time,  and 
was  apprehensive  of  sickness,  but  the  ache  in 
his  limbs  passed  away  after  he  reached  his 
little  den,  and  as  he  lay  on  his  bed  it  sud 
denly  occurred  to  him  that  he  was  tired.  That 
singular  pain  was  just  simple  fatigue.  For  the 
firsttime  in  his  life  he  was  leg-weary.  "Haven't 
walked  so  much  since  I  was  a  kid,"  he  said  to 
himself,  in  astonishment ;  "  and  if  I  know  my 
self,  I  '11  never  break  the  record  again." 

Going  down-stairs,  he  again  thrust  his  head 
in  at  the  window,  and  said :  "  Howdy,  Maud  ! 
can  I  get  supper  here  ? " 

"  You  can  'ave  dinner,  sir,"  replied  the 
clerk,  in  calm  disregard  of  his  greeting. 


74  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"  We  call  it  supper  out  in  Wagon  Wheel. 
What  's  the  damage  ?  " 

"The  what,  sir?" 

"  Damage  —  tariff —  cost  ?  " 

"  Three  shillings,  sir,  for  dinner.  Tea,  one 
shilling.  Meat  tea,  two  shillings." 

"  I  guess  I  '11  try  the  dinner." 

"  Thank  you" 

The  only  seat  left  in  the  little  dining-room 
was  at  the  table  with  a  very  tall,  blond 
woman,  with  a  sixteen-year-old  daughter  in 
short  clothes,  very  prim,  very  shy,  and  rather 
pretty  in  a  stolid  way.  A  boy  of  fourteen, 
evidently  a  son,  sat  beside  the  girl. 

"Good  evening,"  said  Jim,  heartily,  as  he 
stood  beside  his  chair.  "  Nice  night." 

The  woman  bowed  most  frigidly,  the  girl 
looked  down  at  her  plate,  but  the  boy  civilly 
replied,  "  Good  evening,  sir." 

"That  is,  a  nice  night  for  London,"  con 
tinued  Jim,  as  he  unfolded  his  napkin.  The 
woman  pursed  up  her  lips  and  did  not  reply. 

Jim  said  no  more,  although  he  was  suffer 
ing  for  a  little  conversation,  and  had  the 
desire  to  hear  the  girl's  voice.  He  called  for 
a  paper,  and  read  it,  so  far  as  he  could  do  so, 
as  it  lay  beside  his  plate.  The  English  papers 


AFOOT   IN   LONDON  75 

seemed  very  dull,  very  queer,  and  quite  alien 
to  him  ;  indeed,  he  was  delighted  to  find  him 
self  comprehending  the  words,  so  foreign 
were  they  in  appearance.  They  were  largely 
concerned  with  lords  and  ladies,  for  whom 
the  trailer  had  a  democratic  contempt  and 
frank  disgust.  He  had  seen  a  few  samples 
of  the  English  aristocracy  out  in  Colorado, 
and  they  had  given  him  an  exceedingly  un 
favorable  idea  of  nobility  in  general.  The 
other  tables  were  filled  with  what  he  called 
a  "job  lot"  of  English  and  Scotch  people,  all 
quiet  and  peaceful.  For  the  most  part  they 
did  not  see  him  at  all. 

Having  discovered  that  he  was  tired,  Jim 
concluded  to  go  to  bed.  His  first  day  in  Lon 
don  had  produced  no  very  orderly  impression 
on  his  mind.  A  maze  of  streets  filled  with 
crawling,  twisting  lines  of  yellow  'buses ;  a 
hurried,  unintermittent,  snarling  roar  of  car 
riages;  a  welter,  a  chaos,  ugly,  menacing, 
grimy  —  these  were  the  main  impressions. 
The  sidewalks  were  narrower  than  in  Chi 
cago,  and  the  buildings  lower.  The  grim, 
gray-black  buildings  testified  to  a  similar  use 
of  soft  coal.  His  keen  eyes  had  taken  hold 
of  a  million  minute  scenes  and  incidents  which 


76  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

the  Londoner  takes  no  note  of,  and  his  brain 
was  as  weary  as  his  legs.  "  This  won't  do," 
he  said  to  himself.  "Jim,  you  loafed  to-day. 
To-morrow  to  hump  your  back  and  make  a 
singletree  crack." 

All  night  long  the  beat  of  the  horses'  feet 
sounded  through  his  brain,  mingling  with  the 
pulsations  of  the  ship,  and  he  rose  early, 
unrefreshed  and  hungry. 

Soon  after  breakfast  he  set  forth  to  find 
some  of  the  men  to  whom  his  letters  of  intro 
duction  were  addressed.  The  first  on  the  list 
was  a  Mr.  Fletcher,  the  agent  for  a  Chicago 
woolen  firm.  He  turned  out  to  be  a  brisk 
little  man  who  had  become  exceedingly  Brit 
ish  in  accent  and  in  dress.  He  was  offensively 
stiff  at  the  start,  and  treated  Jim  like  a  mes 
senger,  leaving  him  standing  while  he  read 
the  letter,  after  which  he  said,  in  very  broad 
English  vowels:  "Oh,  so  you  are  the  real 
thing,  are  you,  Mr.  Matteson?  Now,  what 
can  I  do  to  be  of  service  to  you  ?  I  'm  very 
busy  at  this  hour,  but  of  course  you  know  I 
shall  be  quite  pleased — " 

"Where  was  you  raised  at?"  asked  Jim, 
with  startling  abruptness. 

Mr.  Fletcher  was  surprised  Into  saying, 
"  Cohoes,  New  York." 


AFOOT   IN   LONDON  77 

"  Well,  say,  suppose  you  an'  me  talk  United 
States  —  no  one  is  listeninV 

Fletcher  got  red  and  lost  some  of  his 
accent  as  he  sharply  asked,  "  What  do  you 
mean  ?  " 

Jim  stepped  closer  and  leaned  menacingly 
over  the  corner  of  the  desk.  "  I  reckon  you 
savvy  all  right.  Out  where  I  camp  we  talk 
as  we  shoot  —  nothing  fancy,  but  we  reach 
people.  Now,  I  Ve  got  a  mine  to  sell,  and 
my  pardner  sent  me  to  you,  thinkin'  you  'd  be 
some  help.  You  're  under  no  obligations  ta 
do  a  thing, —  not  a  blank  thing, —  and  I  don't 
want  you  to  hem  and  haw  and  side-step  with 
me,  not  for  a  holy  minute.  And  I  don't  want 
any  muslin  frills.  Either  you  do  us  a  turn  or 
you  don't.  Now  show  your  hand  like  a  man. 
What  are  you  going  to  do  ?  " 

Fletcher  grew  pale  as  he  looked  into  Jim's 
piercing  eyes.  "  I  guess  I  can't  do  anything 
for  you." 

"All  right,  pardner;  that 's  talk  I  can  un 
derstand.  I  'm  a  little  touchy  on  being 
'  strung,'  even  by  one  of  the  English  '  upper 
clawses,'  and  I  certain  sure  did  n't  come  over 
here  to  have  the  lines  drawn  on  me  by  a  mon- 
gril  dude  from  Cohoes.  Good  day"  he  said 
in  conclusion. 


78  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

In  writing  about  this  to  Ramsdell,  he  said : 
"  I  never  had  a  man  rile  me  worse  with  the 
same  number  of  words.  For  a  red  cent  Id  a 
caved  his  ribs  in.  What  did  you  send  me  up 
against  him  for  ?  " 

The  next  man  showed  no  interest  at  all  for 
the  moment.  He  was  a  middle-aged  physi 
cian,  with  only  a  slight  English  accent.  He 
was,  in  fact,  a  Canadian.  He  asked  Jim  to 
take  a  seat,  and  when  he  had  read  half  the 
letter  rose  to  shake  hands,  saying,  "  I  'm  glad 
to  meet  you,  Mr.  Matteson,"  after  which  he 
resumed  the  letter.  He  read  it  twice  before 
he  spoke.  His  voice  was  kindly,  though  his 
face  was  quite  impassive.  "We  will  see  — 
I  '11  consider  the  matter."  He  pulled  his  long 
gray  beard  in  silence  for  several  minutes. 

At  last  he  said:  "Have  you  had  lun 
cheon  ? " 

"  I  reckon  we  call  it  dinner  in  Wagon 
Wheel.  No." 

"Then  suppose  we  go  out  to  luncheon  and 
talk  it  over."  He  pushed  a  button,  and  a 
butler  (or  a  valet,  or  something  of  that  nature) 
with  a  pair  of  neat  side-whiskers  appeared, 
exactly  as  in  a  play  Jim  had  once  seen  in 
Denver. 


AFOOT  IN   LONDON  79 

"James,  I  'm  going  out  to  luncheon." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  replied  James,  mechanically. 

"  I  '11  be  back  at  three." 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"Tell  Mrs.  Robertson  an  old  friend  from 
America  called." 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"And,  James — " 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Don't  the  Australians  play  at  Crystal 
Palace  to-day  ?  " 

The  man's  face  at  this  point  betrayed  in 
terest.  "  I  think  they  do ;  yes,  sir." 

Robertson  turned  to  Jim.  "  Ever  see  a 
cricket  match  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Not  when  I  was  sober  enough  to  re 
member  it." 

"  You  shall  see  one  with  me.  I  think, 
James,  I  '11  try  to  get  back  by  half- past  two 
and  leave  at  three.  Mr.  Harleigh  will  come 
at  two-fifteen;  have  him  wait." 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"That  will  do." 

"Thank  you,  sir." 

The  doctor  was  moderate  of  movement, 
but  everything  he  did  counted.  In  a  very 
short  time  he  had  Jim  in  a  cab  and  had 


8o  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

driven  to  a  noted  chop-house  in  the  news 
paper  quarter.  It  was  a  fine  old  place,  with 
dark  oaken  tables,  a  sanded  floor,  and  a 
big  fireplace  where  the  customer  could  see 
the  meat  before  it  was  cut  and  the  fire  that 
was  to  broil  it.  Jim  was  pleased  to  see  the 
red  glow  of  fire  once  more. 

"  It  makes  me  think  of  slapping  a  chunk  of 
deer-meat  on  the  coals,"  he  said.  "I  like 
this  old  shack.  Makes  me  feel  at  home.  I 
have  n't  been  warm  since  I  took  the  boat  in 
New  York." 

"Americans  all  complain  in  the  same  way 
of  the  cold.  We  like  it." 

"  You  can  have  it." 

"  How  did  you  leave  Ramsdell?  I  was  very 
fond  of  him ;  he  was  a  bright  student." 

"The  doc?"  responded  Jim.  "The  doc 
is  all  right — at  least  he  was  till  he  met  up 
with  me  and  got  locoed  with  my  ore- talk." 

By  this  time  the  doctor  had  leisure  to  ob 
serve  that  his  guest  was  not  the  conventional 
American  traveler.  He  began  to  unlimber, 
and  after  one  of  Jim's  characteristic  remarks 
he  smiled.  "  Your  speech  makes  me  think  of 
old  times  in  Canada,"  he  said.  "  Canadians  and 
Americans  seem  very  much  alike  to  me  now." 


AFOOT   IN   LONDON  81 

"Ain't  such  a  powerful  difference  in  the 
Northwest ;  I  don't  know  about  the  East. 
You  have  to  look  close  to  tell  the  Selkirks 
from  the  Kalispells." 

"  I  wish  you  'd  state  your  plans  very  fully, 
Mr.  Matteson." 

"  Call  me  Jim.  Well,  here  goes  ";  and  there 
upon  he  told  his  story,  without  haste  and  with 
great  vividness  of  phrase. 

The  doctor  listened  gravely,  and  at  the  end 
said:  "This  is  out  of  my  line,  but  I  believe 
in  Ramsdell,  and  I  '11  help  you  to  the  extent 
of  my  power.  I  must  think  it  over  —  and 
here  comes  our  chop,  so  we  '11  give  attention 
to  that." 

During  the  meal  he  asked  shrewd  questions 
concerning  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  seemed 
to  be  mildly  interested  in  Jim's  picturesque 
replies. 

Jim  liked  him  because  he  did  n't  say  "  quite 
so  "and  "indeed"  to  everything  he  said.  His 
gravity  and  kindly  preoccupation  were  grate 
ful,  too.  The  room  filled  up  with  men, — 
mostly  young  newspaper  men,  the  doctor 
explained, — and  the  cook  at  the  glowing  fire 
was  kept  busy.  It  was  all  as  simple  as  a 
ranch-house,  and  Jim  was  pleased  with  it  and 


82  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

wished  to  remain.  "  I  would  n't  mind  hangin' 
up  my  roll  o'  blankets  right  here,"  he  said- 
"  I  could  take  a  hand  with  the  boys  at  the  fire 
when  I  got  lonesome." 

Promptly  at  half-past  two  the  doctor  re 
turned  to  his  office,  where  two  patients  were 
waiting. 

"  Jim,  I  want  you  to  meet  my  wife,"  said 
he,  ushering  his  guest  into  a  long,  dark  room, 
wherein  a  small  grate  fire  glowed  like  a  ruby. 
"  Please  be  seated  while  I  fetch  her." 

"Surely,"  thought  Jim,  "I  'm  getting  into 
queer  trails." 

Mrs.  Robertson  turned  out  to  be  a  very 
handsome  woman,  much  younger  than  her  hus 
band.  She  smiled  very  sweetly  as  she  offered 
her  hand,  but  Jim  did  not  like  her  :  her  greet 
ing  seemed  insincere.  She  was,  in  fact, 
slightly  bored  at  the  thought  of  entertaining 
a  crude  young  man  from  the  States,  and  took 
her  seat  languidly,  saying,  with  icy  politeness, 
"  You  are  a  friend  of  Dr.  Ramsdell,  my  hus 
band  tells  me  ?  " 

"  More  than  that  —  we  're  pardners." 

"  Ah  !  you  're  a  physician  also  ?  " 

Jim  smiled.  "Well,  not  exactly.  I  'm  a 
miner." 


AFOOT   IN    LONDON  83 

"  Oh,  indeed  !  That 's  very  interesting ;  tell 
me  about  it" 

"  Don't  want  to  invest  in  a  mine  ? "  he 
asked,  with  a  peculiar  smile  which  took  the 
listlessness  out  of  her  pose.  It  seemed  that 
this  young  American  was  making  game  of  her. 

"  Are  you  selling  a  mine  ?  "  she  asked  less 
sweetly. 

"  I  'm  trying  to ;  it  is  n't  exactly  the  same 
thing." 

"Is  Dr.  Robertson  investing?"  Her  voice 
grew  sharper. 

"  He  's  thinking  of  it." 

There  was  an  instant's  silence,  and  the 
sweetness  went  out  of  her  lips.  "  I  don't 
think  I  approve  of  such  speculations,"  she  said 
at  length.  Jim  liked  her  better  as  she  threw 
off  her  languid  air.  "  The  doctor  has  made 
several  very  foolish  investments  of  late,  and 
we  're  in  no  position  to  take  further  risks," 
she  added. 

Jim  still  smiled.  "  Ours  is  a  dead-sure 
shot." 

"  They  all  are."  She  was  certain  now  that 
Jim  was  a  sharper  who  had  secured  some 
uncanny  influence  over  her  husband. 

"  This  is  the  chance  of  his  life." 


84  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"  That  's  exactly  the  phrase  the  other  men 
used,"  she  quickly  replied. 

Jim  continued  to  smile.  "  They  were  talk 
ing  through  their  hats  ;  I  'm  in  dead  earnest. 
If  the  doctor  puts  in  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars—" 

"  You  deal  in  big  figures  over  there,"  she 
interrupted,  smiling  again,  but  in  a  different 
way. 

"  When  we  have  a  big  thing  we  talk  to  its 
level.  I  reckon  the  doctor  could  n't  do  a  bet 
ter  thing  than  bring  his  blankets  right  into 
our  teepee.  We  '11  treat  him  white." 

She  was  perfectly  sure  that  this  singularly 
handsome  young  fellow  was  laughing  at  her, 
and  that  he  did  not  intend  to  give  her  the 
slightest  clue  to  his  real  business.  She  turned 
suddenly  to  other  topics. 

"  How  do  you  enjoy  London  ?  " 

His  face  darkened.  "  I  'm  just  a-campin', 
and  hopin'  it  won't  last  long." 

"You  don't  like  it,  then  ?  " 

"  If  I  get  back  to  Wagon  Wheel  Gap  I  '11 
forget  London  so  quick  you  can  hear  the  glass 
break  inside.  All  I  want  out  of  it  now  is  one 
man  with  two  hundred  thousand  dollars." 

''You  are  very  frank,"  she  said  coldly. 


AFOOT   IN   LONDON  85 

"  I  was  raised  that  way." 

She  smiled  again.  "  I  hope  your  candor 
will  not  interfere  with  your  business  plans." 

"  I  don't  think  it  will.  If  it  does  I  can't 
help  it.  It 's  too  late  for  me  to  begin  a  new 
campaign." 

"  You  spoke  of  Wagon  Wheel  Gap  —  what 
a  singular  name  !  Is  that  your  birthplace?" 

"  Birthplace  !  Oh,  no  ;  no  one  ever  had 
time  to  be  born  in  Wagon  Wheel.  We  die  in 
Wagon  Wheel,  but  I  never  heard  of  any  one 
being  born  there." 

"  How  singular  !  Are  there  no  women  and 
children  in  the  town  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  plenty  of  women ;  but  few  chil 
dren.  Camps  like  Wagon  Wheel  could  n't 
get  along  without  women.  Children — well, 
that  's  different.  But  they  're  comin'.  You 
see,  Wagon  Wheel  broke  out  only  a  few  years 
ago,  and  — " 

Mrs.  Robertson  was  becoming  interested, 
and  seemed  face  to  face  with  the  elemental 
life  of  a  mining-camp,  when  the  doctor  reap 
peared.  "Well,  Jim,  I  am  ready."  As  he 
went  out,  the  mountaineer  nodded  to  Mrs. 
Robertson  and  said  "  Good  day,"  with  a 
curious  dry  emphasis  which  puzzled  her. 


86  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

"  I  never  held  such  a  singular  conversation 
in  my  life,"  she  said  to  her  friend  Mary  Brien, 
who  was  waiting  for  her  in  an  up- stairs  sitting- 
room.  "  He  laughed  at  me  every  minute  of 
the  time,  and  I  could  n't  stop  him." 

"Why  did  n't  you  call  me  down  to  help 
you  ?  I  like  these  odd  Americans." 

"  '  Odd'  is  n't  the  word.  He 's  incomprehen 
sible,"  Mrs.  Robertson  replied,  not  without 
pique.  "  He  's  either  a  savage  or  a  very  un 
scrupulous  man  —  and  not  at  all  gallant.  Wait 
till  you  meet  him." 

"  I  shall  wait  with  impatience.  You  Ve 
roused  my  curiosity,"  replied  Miss  Brien. 

Once  more  in  the  cab,  which  seemed  rui 
nous  extravagance  to  Jim,  the  doctor  spun 
away  down  the  street  to  a  passenger-station, 
and,  with  the  hustler  a  close  second,  hurried 
down  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth  to  take 
the  underground  railway-train,  which  was 
crowded  with  people.  A  noisy,  dirty,  dark, 
and  tedious  ride  of  half  an  hour  brought 
them  to  the  great  open  green  surrounding 
the  Crystal  Palace.  The  doctor  led  the  way 
toward  a  big  pavilion  in  which  thousands  of 
spectators  of  all  classes  were  seated,  watching 
a  dozen  men  dressed  like  base-ball  players, 


AFOOT   IN   LONDON  87 

who  seemed  mildly  active  on  the  green  in  a 
game  which  Jim  supposed  to  be  cricket. 

Two  men  with  broad,  flat  bats  in  their 
hands  stood  several  rods  apart,  just  before 
some  little  sticks  stuck  upright  on  the  beauti 
ful  greensward.  The  "  outs  "  were  dispersed 
about,  a  little  like  the  fielders  in  base-ball. 
The  pitcher,  with  a  long-legged  trot  and  an 
awkward  swing  of  the  whole  arm  from  the 
shoulder,  sent  the  ball  toward  the  batsman, 
who  faced  him.  The  ball  touched  the  ground 
just  before  the  batsman,  and,  eluding  his  bat, 
scattered  the  little  sticks.  Then  the  men  of 
the  immense  assembly  clapped  hands  and 
cried:  "  H'yah !  H'yah!"  "Good  boy, 
Jones ! " 

"He  must  have  got  a  twister  on  that  one," 
said  Jim. 

The  doctor  looked  pleased.  "  Precisely ; 
Jones  has  a  peculiar  '  break '  of  the  ball. 
That  was  one  of  the  Australians'  best  bats 
men,  too." 

Jim  studied  the  pitcher  with  critical  eyes. 
"His  game,  I  take  it,  is  to  fool  the  striker 
and  smash  them  little  sticks.  It  certainly  is 
a  new  one  on  me.  Where  do  the  runs  come 
in  ?  Oh,  I  see,"  he  said,  as  the  new  batsman 


88  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

lifted  the  ball  into  the  air  and  shifted  places 
with  his  fellow  twice  before  it  was  caught  and 
returned  to  the  pitcher.  "  It  's  a  little  like 
two  old  cat,  a  game  we  played  when  I  was  a 
boy  back  in  Kansas.  I  'm  purty  near  pro 
fessional  base-ball  twister  myself." 

The  doctor  was  much  gratified  at  Jim's 
quick  understanding  of  the  game,  and  said : 
"  You  must  have  played  well  ?  " 

"  I  was  captain  of  the  cow-punchers'  nine 
from  the  Cimarron  one  year.  We  scooped 
in  all  the  money  in  the  west  part  of  the  State 
till  I  lost  my  catcher — "  He  broke  off  to 
clap  his  hands.  "  That  was  a  good  stop  I 
Who  is  the  old  seed  with  the  long  goatee  ?  " 

"That  is  Grace,  the  most  noted  player  in 
all  England,"  replied  the  doctor,  his  face 
shining  with  pride. 

"It  was  a  good  stop,  anyhow." 

The  doctor  seemed  to  know  a  good  many 
of  the  cricket  enthusiasts,  and  pointed  them 
out  as  they  passed  to  their  seats.  When 
the  intermission  came,  he  took  Jim  to  a  near 
by  tea-house  for  refreshments,  and  there 
introduced  the  mountaineer  to  a  couple  of 
gentlemen  who  began  every  sentence  on  a 
very  high  key,  from  which  they  tumbled  to  a 


AFOOT   IN   LONDON  89 

period  so  swiftly  that  Jim  was  compelled  to 
say,  "  How  ? "  and  so  force  them  to  repeat, 
while  he  bent  his  ear  to  listen  like  a  coyote 
hunting  mice. 

They,  too,  had  been  to  America.  Robert 
son  seemed  to  select  those  who  had  been  at 
some  time  in  the  Rockies,  in  order  to  bring 
out  Jim's  knowledge  of  the  country,  as  well 
as  to  make  talk  easy  and  pleasant.  Jim  met 
each  man  with  the  same  keen  gaze,  and  his 
reticence  gave  way  to  no  one  but  the  doctor, 
whose  odd  fits  of  abstraction,  followed  by 
sudden  enthusiasm,  interested  the  keen-eyed 
mountaineer  like  the  actions  of  a  new  sort  of 
animal.  Robertson  asked  a  great  many  ques 
tions  about  Ramsdell,  and  made  an  equal 
number  of  vague  suggestions.  It  was  plain 
his  whole  mind  was  set  on  doing  his  friend 
the  right  turn. 

Jim  liked  him  better  and  better  as  the  after 
noon  wore  away.  His  shagginess  was  not 
unlike  that  of  some  old  miner. 

Just  in  the  midst  of  an  exciting  moment  of 
play  Robertson  slapped  his  thigh  and  said : 
"  Twombly  is  your  man !  You  must  see 
Twombly." 

"There  's  the  best  man  on  the  field,"  ex- 


90  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

claimed  Jim —  "  that  man  Gregory.  He  's  a 
stopper  for  your  life.  Makes  me  think  of  Dan 
Meeker  from  'The  Circle-bar,'  who  played 
short-stop  with  me  one  season." 

The  doctor  went  on: 

"  I  '11  have  Twombly  to  dinner  on  Thurs 
day,  and  you  can  talk  the  mine  to  him. 
Bring  your  papers." 

"  I  '11  come  loaded  for  bear,"  replied  Jim, 
who  had  only  partly  comprehended  what 
Robertson  was  saying.  He  continued  a  most 
active  partizan  of  the  Australians,  and  in 
sisted  that  Gregory  would  win  the  match. 
"  Your  home  teams  stand  toward  the  young 
players  from  Australia  just  the  way  Denver 
does  to  Wagon  Wheel.  You  need  the  con 
ceit  taken  out  of  ye.  These  colonials,  as  you 
call  'em,  are  my  kind." 

On  the  way  home  the  doctor  talked  ram- 
blingly  about  the  mine  and  Ramsdell.  "  Ever 
since  I  got  Will's  letter  I  've  been  racking 
my  brain  to  think  whom  I  could  interest.  I 
never  thought  of  Twombly  till  Trumble  made 
that  great  play  —  Trumble  made  me  think  of 
Twombly.  There  are  three  brothers  of 
them.  Alexander  is  a  mining  engineer. 
They  're  all  rich  and  ambitious.  Alex  was 


AFOOT   IN   LONDON  91 

talking  of  going  to  the  Rockies  last  year. 
He  's  your  man.  As  soon  as  I  can  get  him, 
I  '11  send  for  you.  Come  and  see  me  any 
day  at  one.  I  lunch  then." 

"I  '11  think  of  it,"  said  Jim,  remembering 
his  discouraging  experience  with  Mrs.  Rob 
ertson. 

Altogether  he  was  much  encouraged  by  the 
finding  of  so  good  a  friend  as  Robertson  had 
already  proved  himself  to  be,  and  set  about 
presenting  the  remainder  of  his  bunch  of 
introductory  letters  with  good  cheer. 

One  morning  some  days  later  the  waiter 
handed  him  a  dainty  little  envelop.  It  was 
from  the  doctor's  wife. 

DEAR  MR.  MATTESON:  Can't  you  come  to  me  on 
Thursday  ?  Mr.  Twombly  is  in  the  country,  but  I  hope 
to  have  him  also.  It  will  give  us  great  pleasure  to  have 
you  with  us.  Please  let  us  know  at  once  if  we  may 
expect  you.  We  dine  at  seven. 

Yours  cordially,  GRACE  ROBERTSON. 

Jim  read  this  note  with  a  great  deal  of 
interest.  First  of  all  he  was  interested  in 
knowing  that  Mrs.  Robertson  considered  it 
worth  while  to  second  the  doctor's  invitation, 
and  then  there  was  a  curious  significance  in 


92  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

that  phrase,  "  Come  to  me."  He  would  have 
regarded  a  letter  containing  such  a  phrase 
with  suspicion,  had  it  come  from  some  one 
not  accounted  for.  They  dined  at  seven,  it 
seemed.  Why  did  n't  they  put  it  off  till  bed 
time,  and  just  take  a  snack  in  the  buttery  ? 
"  However,  I  can  stand  it  one  day  if  they 
can  all  the  year  round,"  he  said,  and  sat 
down  and  penned  this  reply : 

DEAR  MADAM  :  Im  agreeable  to  coming  round  if  you 
can  stand  my  ways.  Ive  eat  with  my  hunting-knife  so 
long,  its  hard  to  break  in  on  forks.  You  cant  expect  a 
musketeer  to  gather  honey  like  a  bumblebee.  Ill  tie  up 
to  your  hitching-pole  about  6:55,  sos  to  have  time  to  un 
saddle  before  grub-pile. 

Respectfully  yours, 

JAMES  MATTESON. 

This  letter  alarmed  Mrs.  Robertson,  and 
she  took  it  to  the  doctor  to  read.  "What 
sort  of  savage  is  this  man  Jim?" 

He  laughed  heartily  over  it.  "  It  's  his 
way,  my  dear  ;  don't  be  uneasy.  He  '11  turn 
up  in  irreproachable  dinner-jacket  without 
doubt.  These  Americans  enjoy  fooling  us  to 
the  top  of  our  bent.  Jim  knows  we  expect 
eccentricity  of  him,  and  so  he  lives  up  to  our 
expectations." 


AFOOT   IN   LONDON  93 

"  I  expect  him  to  act  like  a  gentleman,  and 
this  letter  is  insufferable." 

"  Oh,  now,  my  dear,  you  're  too  quick  of 
offense.  He  meant  no  harm.  You  wrote  him 
a  polite  note  in  London  fashion,  and  he  replies 
in  hunter  fashion.  As  that  American  come 
dian  used  to  say,  it 's  '  hoss  an'  hoss.' ' 

"  Don't  you  get  coarse,  Hugh,"  his  wife  re 
plied.  "  And  I  hope  you  're  not  going  to  put 
your  money  into  any  wild-eyed  project.  What 
do  you  know  of  him?" 

"Nothing,  except  that  he  's  Ramsdell's 
trusted  partner  and  — I  like  him.  What  does 
Twombly  say  ?  " 

"'Another  engagement  prevents,'  etc.  I 
hope  you  '11  consider  well  before  — " 

"  Don't  worry,  my  dear.  I  don't  intend  to 
put  in  a  shilling.  Nobody  will,  until  the  mine 
is  proved  to  be  right." 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Jim  did  not  look  for 
ward  with  keen  pleasure  to  meeting  the  doc 
tor's  wife.  She  had  interested  him  more  as 
an  opponent  in  a  game  than  as  a  hostess; 
he  had  enjoyed  mystifying  her  and  playing 
upon  her  mistaken  notion  of  him,  but  he 
was  indifferent  about  her  dinner-party.  He 
liked  the  doctor  thoroughly,  and  it  was  busi- 


>94  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

ness ;  but  spending  an  evening  with  Mrs.  Rob 
ertson  might  be  toil.  The  feeling  that  he 
was  going  about  the  work  his  partner  had  set 
him  to  do  sustained  him  as  he  thought  of  the 
possible  annoyances  and  embarrassments  of 
sitting  at  the  same  table  with  the  doctor's 
stately  and  prideful  wife. 

Meanwhile  Hastings,  his  acquaintance  of 
the  sea-voyage,  came  up  to  see  him,  and 
brought  his  father,  a  cautious  old  fellow  who 
plainly  considered  Jim  a  dangerous  associate 
for  his  son.  Hastings  the  elder  was  the  typi 
cal  Briton  in  Jim's  mind  —  short  and  stout, 
and  exceedingly  ruddy  of  visage,  and  with  no 
proper  use  for  "aitches"  at  all.  The  visit 
resulted  chiefly  in  a  lunch  at  young  Hastings's 
club  and  in  a  certain  growth  of  confidence  on 
the  part  of  the  squire.  The  mine  was  not 
discussed. 

Jim  had  the  directions  for  finding  Dr.  Rob 
ertson's  house  written  out  on  a  card  which  he 
carried  in  the  sweat-band  of  his  best  hat,  and 
when  the  time  came  to  start  he  put  on  his  long 
frock-coat  and  his  wide-rimmed  sombrero, 
and  joylessly  set  forth.  He  slipped  a  small 
but  high-class  revolver  into  his  hip  pocket  — 
a  dress-revolver,  but  by  no  means  a  toy.  On 


AFOOT  IN   LONDON  95. 

the  little  finger  of  his  left  hand  he  wore  a  ring" 
hammered  out  of  a  nugget  which  he  had 
found  in  the  San  Juan  gravel ;  a  Navajo 
metal-worker  had  fashioned  it  for  him.  It  was 
a  cruel  weapon  on  the  hand  of  a  strong  man. 
As  the  evening  was  fine,  he  wore  no  overcoat 
and  no  gloves. 

He  made  a  handsome  figure,  not  so  notice 
able  otherwise  as  might  be  supposed.  His 
easy,  quiet  movement  and  his  alert  and  hu 
morous  eyes  modified  the  bizarre  effect  of  the 
broad  hat  and  the  long  coat,  which  he  wore 
unbuttoned  and  swinging,  in  the  manner  of 
"the  hills,"  which  is,  in  fact,  Southern.  He 
walked  the  entire  distance,  and  was  "  hungry 
enough  to  eat  mountain-goat "  when  he 
arrived  —  on  time  to  a  minute. 

James  opened  the  door. 

"Howdy  do?"  said  the  trailer,  heartily. 
"  Is  the  boss  ready  to  receive  the  Rocky 
Mountain  delegation  ?  " 

James  smiled.  "  He  's  waiting,  sir.  Shall 
I  take  your  hat,  sir  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I  guess  I  can  slam  it  on  a  peg  if 
you  '11  show  me  the  peg.  I  reckon  you  'd 
call  this  a  fine  night  in  London." 

The  tone  of  his  voice  was  such  as  James 


96  HER    MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

had  never  heard.  It  was  expressive  of  genu 
ine  good  will  and  natural  and  simple  democ 
racy.  To  the  miner,  James  was  the  doctor's 
hired  hand  and  an  honorable  citizen ;  in  fact, 
he  rather  liked  him. 

"  How  do  you  stand  this  indoor  life?  "  he  was 
asking  when  the  doctor  stepped  into  the  hall. 

Jim  turned.  "  Hello,  doctor !  how  are  you 
to-night?"  He  put  an  odd  emphasis  on  the 
last  word. 

"  Very  well  indeed.  Come  right  in  ;  I  want 
to  present  you  to  some  friends  of  mine." 

The  doctor  wore  a  "  swallowtail  "  coat,  and 
as  Jim  entered  the  drawing-room  he  per 
ceived  two  other  gentlemen  in  similar  dress, 
and  several  ladies  in  low-necked  gowns  of  gay 
color.  This  little  party  was  unexpected,  but 
the  mountaineer  did  not  let  his  trouble  show. 

"  Howdy ! "  he  said  to  Mrs.  Robertson. 
"How  are  you  by  this  time?"  His  words 
were  strange,  but  his  smile  was  very  winning. 

"  Very  well  indeed,  Mr.  Matteson.  Let  me 
present  you  to  Miss  Brien." 

A  small  girl  with  a  shrewd,  bright  face 
turned  toward  him. 

"  Howdy  do,  Miss  Brien  ?  No  relation  to 
our  William  J.?" 


AFOOT   IN   LONDON  97 

"  If  he  's  Irish,  it  may  be,"  she  replied,  with 
a  quaint  twist  of  her  pretty  mouth,  which  he 
liked.  She  could  see  a  joke.  "We  spell  ours 
with  an  /." 

"  I  guess  that  lets  him  out,"  he  replied. 

Mrs.  Robertson  plucked  at  his  arm,  and  he 
followed  her. 

"  Mother,  this  is  Mr.  Matteson;  my  mother, 
Mrs.  Cullen." 

"  Happy  to  meet  you,"  said  Jim,  pumping 
at  the  arm  of  a  grim  old  woman,  who  bowed 
haughtily  and  kept  her  lips  in  a  straight  line, 
as  though  afraid  to  betray  her  disgust  of  him. 
He  was  presented  next  to  Mr.  Cullen,  a  very 
heavy  old  gentleman  with  close-cut  white 
whiskers;  and  last  of  all  to  a  young  man  of 
slight  frame,  who  had  very  round  red  lips,  a 
pointed  black  beard,  and  a  pale  face.  He  spoke 
in  a  most  singular  lisp  as  he  greeted  the  trailer. 

"  We  have  heard  very  singular  tales  of  you, 
Mr.  Matteson." 

"  I  wonder  they  let  you  come  out  alone," 
was  Jim's  harsh  inward  comment.  The  sin 
gular  young  man's  name  was  Seargeant,  and 
Jim's  mind  formulated  a  pun:  "Seargeant! 
He  ain't  fit  to  be  a  corporal." 

In  looking  about  for  a  seat  Jim  naturally 


98  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

took  one  by  the  little  Irish  girl,  who  had  been 
saying  under  her  breath  to  her  hostess: 
"  Is  n't  he  handsome  !  I  like  him,  I  tell  you. 
Don't  dare  to  send  him  out  to  dinner  with  any 
one  else.  He  's  utterly  unconscious  of  being 
noticeable." 

She  was  quite  right.  Jim  was  not  suffering 
because  of  his  singularity  of  dress.  If  people 
wished  to  wear  low-cut  waistcoats  or  red 
trousers  or  six-inch  plaids,  he  had  no  objec 
tion.  He  bought  clothes  to  suit  himself,  and 
expected  others  to  do  the  same.  There  was 
no  trace  of  awkwardness  in  his  bearing.  He 
recognized  no  social  distinctions,  and  being 
properly  clothed,  accepted  the  peculiar  manner 
and  dress  of  others  tolerantly.  Privately  he 
thought  Mrs.  Robertson  a  little  "flashy."  The 
Irish  girl,  being  little  and  less  florid,  pleased 
him  better.  He  thought  her  almost  as  hand 
some  as  Mrs.  Ramsdell,  though  her  expression 
was  less  agreeable  and  more  changeable. 

Before  he  could  reply  to  a  question  from 
her,  Mrs.  Robertson  said : 

"  Mr.  Matteson,  you  are  to  take  Miss  Brien 
in  to  dinner." 

"  That  suits  me,  if  she  don't  object.  If  she 
does,  I  '11  take  her  anyway." 


AFOOT   IN   LONDON  99- 

"  I  am  perfectly  delighted,  Mr.  Matteson, 
for  I  want  to  ask  you  a  thousand  questions." 

"  Make  it  ,two  thousand,  if  you  want,"  he 
replied,  and  his  liking  was  made  plain  to  her. 
He  rose,  and  she  took  his  arm,  and  they 
walked  out  in  such  a  matter-of-fact  way  that 
Miss  Brien  had  a  suspicion  the  miner  had 
been  playing  a  part  and  forgot  himself  at  the 
moment.  His  bluff,  blunt  manner  was  a  con 
stant  surprise,  for  his  eyes  were  gentle  and 
humorous. 

"  I  wonder  if  he  is  fooling  us,"  she  thought. 

Jim  found  himself  just  opposite  Seargeant, 
who  looked  at  him  through  his  one  eye-glass- 
with  eager  attention.  Miss  Brien  began  con 
versation  : 

"  How  do  you  like  London  ?  " 

"Not  a  bit." 

"Well,  that  's  frank." 

"  It 's  the  truth.  I  'd  rather  camp  where  I 
can  hear  the  roar  of  the  Uncompahgre  or  the 
Kicking  Horse  than  have  a  whole  floor  in  the 
best  hotel  in  London." 

"  Kicking  Horse  —  what  is  that,  please?  " 

"A  stream  —  the  purtiest  that  ever  washed 
gold  out  of  a  hill." 

"In  Colorado?" 


ioo  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

"  Could  n't  be  nowhere  else." 

"  You  're  very  loyal  to  your  State." 

"  Sure ;  and  if  I  ever  get  back  to  it  I  '11 
never  leave  it." 

"  Mrs.  Robertson  tells  me  you  came  over 
to  sell  a  mine." 

"  I  came  over  to  try  —  that 's  different." 

The  little  lady  was  fast  winning  his  confi 
dence,  her  eyes  were  so  bright,  her  expression 
so  alert.  She  was  listening  to  every  syllable 
he  uttered,  as  if  she  found  him  interesting. 
"  Her  thinking-box  is  all  in  order,"  Jim  said 
to  himself  as  he  began  to  question  her.  He 
left  his  soup  quite  untasted  when  it  came, 
although  he  was  hungry. 

"  You  must  n't  let  me  interrupt  your  eating, 
Mr.  Matteson." 

"  I  'd  like  to  drink  the  blame  stuff,"  he  said 
in  a  low  voice,  "  and  save  trouble.  I  never 
eat  soup  if  I  can  help  it.  It  's  too  thin  for 
me." 

"  Come  and  dine  with  me,  and  we  '11  have 
things  all  to  your  liking ;  will  you  ?  " 

He  smiled  down  into  her  gray,  mysterious 
eyes,  and  exclaimed : 

"  Sure  thing !  Where  do  you  hang  out  ? 
I  mean,  where  's  your  house  ?  " 


AFOOT   IN   LONDON  101 

"  It 's  over  Kensington  way.  I  '11  give  you 
a  card  before  we  part." 

"  All  right ;  I  '11  be  on  hand.  You  're  my 
kind.  You  savvy  like  a  shot.  What  makes 
the  difference  ? " 

"  Oh,  I  've  been  in  South  Africa ;  maybe 
that  helps  me.  My  brother  has  a  mine  down 
there.  He  's  in  London  now  ;  indeed,  the 
town  is  full  of  provincials  on  account  of 
'  Savage  Africa.' ' 

"What 's  that?" 

"  Oh,  it  's  an  imitation  of  your  '  Buffalo 
Bill '  show,  full  of  horsemen  and  savages  and 
shooting.  Do  you  know,  I  believe  you  'd 
like  to  see  it.  Will  you  go  with  me?  I  '11 
make  up  a  party  and  invite  the  doctor  and 
Grace  to  go  also.  Will  you  come  ?  " 

"  Dead-sure  shot.     When  will  it  be  ?  " 

"I  '11  let  you  know.  Where  are  you  stay- 
ing?" 

"  I  hole  up  nights  in  a  queer  little  hotel 
up  near  the  Northwestern  Depot.  It 's  called 
the  Teviot  House." 

"  Very  well ;  you  '11  hear  from  me  as  soon 
as  I  can  arrange  a  date.  And  now  tell  me 
all  about  mining  and  the  mountains.  The 
doctor  tells  me  you  were  a  real  cow-boy." 


102  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"  Well,  I  served  my  time  at  it.  I  began 
business  in  eastern  Kansas,  and  worked  right 
through  the  State,  dodgin'  all  the  school- 
houses  on  the  way,  as  you  can  see."  He 
smiled,  a  slow,  curious  grin.  "  I  know  five  or 
six  things  about  cows  and  country  rock  and  the 
trail,  but  mighty  little  besides ;  and  the  worst 
of  it  is,  I  don't  feel  bad  about  it."  He 
paused,  and  his  face  grew  thoughtful.  "  I 
piloted  a  Smithsonian  bug-sharp  all  through 
New  Mexico  one  slack  season,  and  we 
agreed  that  it  was  a  stand-off.  He  knew 
the  size  of  the  sun,  and  what  comets  was,  and 
how  the  stars  moved;  but  I  had  him  on  the 
best  way  to  build  a  fire  in  a  rain,  and  how  to 
foller  a  trail  in  the  night,  and  how  to  find  a 
spring  of  water,  and  the  like  o'  that.  He  was 
a  mighty  reasonable  chap,  in  spite  of  his 
notions,  and  when  we  come  to  part,  he  says : 
'  Jim,  I  come  out  here  with  some  conceit  of 
myself,  but  I  don't  know  as  it  's  any  bigger 
business  weighin'  a  star  than  it  is  trackin'  up 
a  piece  of  float.  All  human  knowledge  is  of 
small  account,  anyway.'  He  put  it  just  that 
way ;  I  remember  it  all  as  well  as  if  it  hap 
pened  this  morning." 

The  girl's  eyes  were  very  grave.  "  What 
did  you  say  ?  "  she  asked  in  a  low  voice. 


AFOOT   IN   LONDON  103 

"  I  said,  '  Shake;  let  it  stand  on  that.'  And 
we  shook.  The  trail  forked  right  there ;  he 
took  one  and  I  took  another.  I  never  saw 
him  again.  Aside  from  Doc  Ramsdell,  he 
was  the  best-educated  man  I  ever  met.  The 
worst  of  it  was,  he  was  bit  by  a  rattler  out  in 
Arizona  and  died  that  same  summer.  I  've 
never  felt  right  about  that.  If  I  'd  gone  with 
him,  as  he  wanted  me  to,  I  might  'ave  helped 
him;  but — "  His  voice  choked,  and  he  looked 
away  for  a  moment.  "  You  see,  he  proved 
his  case :  all  he  knew  did  him  no  good  in  the 
pinch." 

"What  are  you  two  so  serious  about?" 
inquired  Mrs.  Robertson  across  the  corner  of 
the  table. 

The  girl  gave  her  a  silencing  glance,  and 
replied :  "  Mr.  Matteson  has  just  asked  me  to 
buy  his  mine,  and  I  Ve  told  him  I  can't  afford 
a  mine  in  Colorado  and  one  in  Africa." 

Jim  was  touched  by  her  desire  to  shield 
him.  "  You  can't  have  too  many  mines  if 
they  're  good  ones,"  he  said.  "  There  's  only 
one  thing  better  than  ownin'  a  mine,  and 
that 's  findin'  one.  It  sure  beats  any  kind  o' 
game-shootin'.  To  ride  along  in  a  mineral 
belt  knowin'  you  may  pick  a  piece  o'  float 
any  minute  that  '11  trail  up  a  big  ledge  o' 


104  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

quartz  —  well,  that  is  about  the  best  fun  I 
ever  took  a  hand  in." 

"  I  can  understand,"  she  said  with  shining 
eyes.  "And  the  mountains  and  the  streams 
all  around !  I  can  imagine  it  all." 

Thereafter  Jim  felt  much  better  acquainted 
with  the  girl,  and  she  looked  at  him  with  the 
frankest  liking  and  admiration.  At  the  earli 
est  moment  she  said  in  a  low  voice : 

"  I  know  a  thousand  things  that  you  don't 
know, —  things  that  go  with  what  is  called 
culture  and  the  higher  education,  and  cities 
and  ball-rooms,  and  all  that, —  but  I  'm  in 
clined  to  think  your  friend  was  right.  It 
does  n't  matter  what  you  know ;  it  's  what 
you  are.  I  hope  you  won't  like  London. 
You  must  n't  stay  here ;  it 's  no  place  for  a 
big,  natural  man  like  you." 

He  smiled  as  he  said :  "  No  danger  o'  my 
stay  in'  long." 

"  You  must  n't.  It  would  be  a  sorrowful 
thing  if  you  conformed  to  our  ways.  Life 
will  be  a  dreary  business  when  all  the  world 
conforms  to  the  ideals  of  London  and  Paris. 
Go  back  to  your  mountains,  to  your  trail,  and 
forget  London.  It  is  n't  worth  your  while." 

There  was  an   intensity  of  passion  in  her 


AFOOT   IN   LONDON  105 

voice,  her  glance,  which  moved  him  deeply. 
In  a  dim  way  he  perceived  that  she  was  a 
soul  of  unusual  powers.  The  little,  flushed 
face,  the  soft  curves  of  her  girlish  bust,  con 
fused  him  also.  He  liked  her,  but  she  puz 
zled  him.  Her  low-cut  gown  displayed  more 
of  her  body  than  was  seemly  in  his  eyes ;  but 
he  was  certain  she  was  frank  and  good,  and 
a  thinker  as  well  —  one  who  could  meet  Rob 
ertson  or  Ramsdell  on  his  own  ground. 

All  this  he  thought  out,  sitting  in  silence 
in  the  midst  of  the  chatter,  while  Miss  Brien 
looked  at  him  intently.  She  liked  his  sudden 
fit  of  abstraction,  but  did  not  understand  the 
cause  of  it. 

"  Now  you  must  try  some  of  this  duck," 
she  said.  "  I  Ve  kept  you  talking,  and  you  've 
had  no  time  to  eat  at  all." 

"  I  can  eat  any  time,"  he  replied,  and  she 
gladly  filled  out  his  elliptical  compliment. 

She  went  on :  "  You  '11  like  my  brother. 
He  will  be  in  after  dinner  to  take  me  home, 
and  I  '11  introduce  you.  He  had  a  billiard 
match  to  play  off,  and  could  not  come  in  to 
dinner.  Nothing  will  make  him  conform 
since  having  a  taste  of  freedom.  He  will  be 
our  guide  to  see  '  Savage  Africa.' " 


106  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"  If  he  's  anything  like  you,"  replied  Jim, 
"  I  know  he  's  worth  knowin'." 

After  the  ladies  left  and  the  cigars  went 
round,  the  doctor  began  to  talk  in  his  queer, 
disjointed  way  and  to  ask  questions ;  but  Jim 
was  in  a  dark  mood,  and  shut  up  like  a  cellar 
door.  Young  Seargeant's  childish  lisp  irritated 
him,  and  the  old  man  bored  him  with  his  long 
speeches  about  the  South  African  problem. 
And  yet  he  did  n't  care  particularly  to  see 
Miss  Brien  again.  She  mystified  him,  and 
he  wanted  time  to  think  her  over  and  find 
her  out.  She  was  like  a  new  kind  of  ore 
with  surprising  combinations  of  metal  and 
country  rock. 

Meanwhile  the  ladies  were  talking  about 
the  mountaineer  while  smoking  their  ciga 
rettes. 

"  Is  n't  he  singular  ?  I  saw  you  were  inter 
ested  in  him.  Did  n't  you  find  him  rather 
primitive  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Robertson  of  Mary. 

"He  's  elemental.  I  am  going  to  turn  him 
into  a  novel.  We  are  to  see  each  other  again. 
I  'm  to  make  a  date." 

Mrs.  Robertson  laughed  outright.  "  You 
are  his  slave,  I  can  see  that;  but  be  careful — 
he  's  not  the  guileless  bear  he  pretends  to  be. 


AFOOT  IN  LONDON  107 

He  was  nice  with  you  because  you  are  young 
and  pretty ;  but  there  's  something  savage  in 
him.  I  confess  I  don't  know  how  to  meet 
him.  I  'm  afraid  of  him,  to  tell  the  truth,  and 
I  think  he  has  designs  on  the  doctor's  little 
bank  reserve.  It  is  n't  quite  natural  that  a 
man  so  '  elemental,'  as  you  call  him,  should 
turn  up  here  in  the  midst  of  the  London  sea 
son  with  a  mine  to  sell.  He  may  be  playing 
a  part  in  the  interests  of  the  Chicago  partner. 
His  simplicity  may  turn  out  to  be  artifice. 
I  Ve  warned  the  doctor  against  him." 

"  I  know  him  a  good  deal  better  than  you  do. 
He  's  all  right,"  replied  Mary,  with  a  smile. 
"  He  's  the  real  josey." 

"  What  an  expression  !  Did  you  catch  that 
from  him  ? " 

"Yes  —  that 's  one  of  Jim's  phrases." 
"  He  told  you  to  call  him  'Jim,'  did  he?" 
"  He  did,  and  I  'm  practising  for  it.    It  seems 
a  little  precipitate  when  I  am  out  of  his  pres 
ence,  but  when  those  big,  beautiful,  honest, 
St.  Bernard  eyes  are  looking  into  mine  I  could 
call  him  'Jim  dear."1 

Mrs.  Cullen  was  horrified  at  these  remarks. 
She  had  never  reconciled  herself  to  the  smok 
ing  of  the  younger  generation  of  English- 


io8  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

women,  and  these  dangerously  frank  words 
of  a  young  girl  were  shocking.  Mrs.  Robert 
son  only  laughed.  She  enjoyed  Mary's  un 
conventional  moods. 

"  I  'm  not  as  bad  as  you  fancy,"  she  said  to 
Mrs.  Cullen.  "  I  only  say  what  other  girls 
think.  It  is  n't  often  I  have  an  opportunity  to 
talk  to  a  soul  in  a  sombrero.  I  only  know 
one  who  interested  me  in  the  same  way,  and 
he  '  lies  low  in  the  level  sand,'  so  far  away  I 
shall  never  plant  a  rose  on  his  grave."  Her 
voice  grew  suddenly  vehement.  "  I  like  men, 
big,  savage,  hot-blooded,  good  men,  and  that 's 
what  Jim  is.  No  woman  can  corrupt  Jim. 
She  might  hurt  him  and  make  him  suffer,  but 
he  will  always  stand  tall.  Joe  would  have 
liked  him.  I  like  him,  and  I  see  no  reason 
why  we  should  not  be  friends." 

She  got  up  and  seized  a  banjo  by  its  be- 
ribboned  neck  as  if  to  bang  the  wall  with  it, 
but  changed  her  mind,  and  sat  down  to  pick 
at  its  strings.  Before  she  was  fairly  at  it  Jim 
appeared  at  the  door,  his  face  alight  with  a 
boyish  smile. 

"  Did  I  hear  a  banjo  ?  By  the  Lord  Harry  ! 
that  sounds  good.  Let  me  look  at  it."  He 
took  it  from  her  and  gave  it  a  whirl  in  his 


AFOOT   IN  LONDON  109 

hands.  "  Why,  it 's  a  sure-enough  coon-con 
jurer."  He  gave  it  two  or  three  big,  rattling 
sweeps  with  his  fingers,  and  the  ladies  gasped. 
"  Why,  this  ain't  no  silver-bowed  tinkle-tank ; 
this  was  made  by  a  nigger  out  of  a  blue-gum 
tree.  Where  'd  you  get  it  ?  " 

"  My  husband  bought  it  of  a  runaway  slave 
when  he  was  a  lad  in  Canada." 

"  That  accounts  for  it.  I  'm  just  honin'  for 
the  sound  of  one,"  he  said,  turning  it  deftly. 
"  I  was  raised  in  southern  Kansas,  and  an 
old  darky  showed  me  how  to  conjure  with 
the  banjo." 

"  Oh,  play,  play  !  "  called  Miss  Brien. 

"  I  'm  going  to,"  he  replied. 

JIM  walked  up  the  street,  his  mind  busy  draw 
ing  contrasts  between  Miss  Brien  and  Bessie. 
Aspen  Park  seemed  a  long  way  off  at  the  mo 
ment,  and  the  power  of  this  strange  London 
woman  was  not  easy  to  elude.  He  was  irri 
tated  by  her  low  dress.  He  could  n't  imagine 
the  little  girl  in  Aspen  Park  wearing  such 
a  dress  in  any  circumstances  whatever. 
Perhaps  a  little  feeling  of  proprietorship 
added  to  his  disapproval. 

However,  it  was  good  to  be  understood  as 


1 10  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

this  London  woman  understood  him,  and  to 
be  complimented  as  a  superior  and  treated  on  a 
plane  of  good-fellowship  at  the  same  time  was 
a  new  experience.  They  had  been  delighted 
with  his  playing,  and  when  he  left  Mrs. 
Robertson  had  said,  "  Come  again."  And 
yet  he  felt  as  though  he  had  been  wasting 
time. 

He  received  a  letter  from  Bessie  the  next 
day,  and  it  gave  him  a  shock.  Nothing  of 
the  same  size  had  ever  happened  to  him.  He 
knew  instantly  that  it  was  from  her,  and  yet 
he  held  it  a  long  while  before  he  opened  it ; 
and  when  he  saw  the  little  sprig  of  heliotrope 
on  the  corner,  the  neat,  odd  handwriting,  and 
the  opening  phrase,  "  Dear  Mr.  Matteson," 
he  laid  it  down  and  went  and  washed  his 
hands  carefully  before  going  further. 

"  This  is  a  new  lay  for  you,  pardner,"  he 
said  to  himself.  "  This  is  no  grocer's  bill. 
This  is  a  letter  from  your  best  girl." 

He  settled  himself  in  his  chair,  and  took 
up  the  dainty  sheets  again  as  if  holding 
some  fragile  flower. 

DEAR  MR.  MATTESON  :  Mrs.  Ramsdell  has  asked  me 
to  write  for  her  to  inquire  how  you  are  getting  along. 


AFOOT  IN   LONDON  in 

We  talk  of  you  every  day.  The  doctor  has  had  a  spell 
of  the  blues,  but  Mrs.  Ramsdell  and  I  insist  you  '11  suc 
ceed.  How  do  you  like  London?  We  are  all  waiting 
impatiently  for  your  first  letter.  Do  tell  us  all  that  hap 
pens  to  you.  You  will  see  everything  in  a  new  way,  and 
we  want  to  get  long  letters  from  you.  I  liked  your  talk 
about  the  mountains  so  much.  I  've  made  Dr.  Ramsdell 
promise  to  take  me  with  him  when  he  goes  out  to  see  the 
mine  again,  so  you  may  see  me  out  there.  Of  course  I 
expect  to  meet  you  when  you  come  to  Chicago  again. 
You  will  find  London  very  tame  after  your  wonderful  life 
in  the  mountains. 

Very  sincerely, 

BESSIE  R.  BLAKE. 

On  the  bottom  of  the  sheet  was  a  line  in 
a  different  handwriting,  heavily  underscored : 
"  You  made  a  deep  impression  on  Bessie." 

For  half  an  hour  the  man  of  the  trail  sat  in 
his  chair  and  pondered.  Could  it  be  possible 
that  such  a  girl —  Then  he  thought  of  his 
big,  unskilful  fist.  "  I  can't  write  a  decent 
letter,"  he  thought.  "I  'm  stumped  right 
now.  If  I  do  write,  she  '11  laugh  at  my  gram 
mar  ;  if  I  don't,  she  '11  be  offended.  It 's  got 
to  be  done,  but  I  don't  see  how.  Ain't  it 
slick?"  He  referred  back  to  the  letter,  and 
compared  the  envelop  with  the  paper,  glad  to 
discover  that  they  were  exactly  the  same 
shade  of  blue.  "  Oh,  she  is  a  little  thorough- 


112  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

bred.      Too  fine  for  an  old  bronc  like  me. 
All  the  same,  that  letter  has  got  to  be  writ." 

He  tried  his  pen  and  his  paper,  and  got 
squared  to  his  work  —  and  stuck  fast,  fearing 
to  begin.  He  could  n't  call  her  by  her  first 
name,  and  "  Dear  Miss  "  did  n't  seem  right. 
"  Dear  Friend "  covered  the  ground,  but 
seemed  a  little  "  too  previous."  It  might 
scare  her.  He  compromised  by  plunging  into 
the  middle  of  the  page. 

Ive  only  had  time  yet  to  hunt  up  two  of  the  men  doc 
put  me  onto.  Im  going  to  make  a  break  for  the  other 
two  this  afternoon.  This  job  didnt  seem  easy  to  me  when 
I  started,  and  it  aint  got  no  easier  since.  Its  about  the 
lonesomest  trail  I  ever  camped  down  on.  Your  letter 
heartened  me  up,  it  did,  sure  thing,  and  Im  on  the  war 
path  from  this  on.  Ill  tell  you  right  now,  I  dont  want 
any  more  sailing  in  mine.  If  they  was  any  way  round,  Id 
take  it  if  it  was  forty  thousand  miles  long.  When  I  start 
back  I  jump  the  fastest  boat  with  a  bottle  of  chloroform. 
First  Im  going  to  win  out  here.  Its  a  tough  proposition, 
but  I  nail  it  to  the  wall.  Theys  a  fellow  over  here  by  the 
name  of  Rhodes,  from  Africa.  I  understand  hes  workin 
the  British  for  his  own  good.  I  dont  know  his  game 
exactly.  Its  something  like  mine,  only  on  a  bigger  scale. 
I  only  want  one  or  two  men ;  hes  doing  things  like  he 
wanted  all  outdoors. 

Dont  you  worry  about  me.  Ill  make  a  killing  yet  and 
bring  the  meat  right  along  home  with  me.  Chicago 
seems  like  home  to  me  now,  with  you  and  the  doc  and  his 


AFOOT   IN   LONDON  113 

wife  living  there.  See  you!  Well,  I  rather  gamble  I 
shall,  unless  you  take  to  the  woods.  I  hope  youll  write 
again ;  it  kindo  puts  a  streak  of  sunshine  into  the  durn  old 
town. 

Yours  respcfly, 

JIM  MATTESON. 


V 

A  RARE   FLOWER  OF   DECAY 

AT  Dr.  Robertson's  suggestion,  Jim  moved 
down  to  the  Grand  Central  Hotel,  an 
enormous  caravansary  filled  with  gamblers, 
rich  tourists,  touts,  jockeys,  florid  ladies,  Ameri 
can  salesmen,  newspaper  correspondents,  and 
every  other  conceivable  sort  of  adventurer 
from  the  Old  World  and  the  New.  Jim  was 
suspicious  of  it  and  all  the  people  in  it  at  once, 
feeling  that  danger  lurked  in  every  corner. 
His  little  stock  of  money  seemed  very  small 
in  the  midst  of  the  paint  and  putty  of  this  big 
palace. 

Suspicion  was  not  all  on  his  side  either. 
He  was  immediately  "spotted"  by  the  clerk 
as  a  man  with  a  "  graft "  of  some  kind,  but 
Jim  concealed  his  own  uneasiness  so  well  that 
no  one  accosted  him  for  a  couple  of  days. 

A  newspaper  man,  looking  over  the  regis 
ter,  saw  his  name,  "  Jim  Matteson,  Wagon 

"4 


A  RARE  FLOWER  OF  DECAY  115 

Wheel,  Colo.,"  and  said  to  the  clerk:  "  Can 
you  give  me  a  pointer  on  this  Jim  Matteson  ? 
When  did  he  come  ?  " 

"Yesterday.  There  he  is  now  —  the  chap 
in  the  sombrero." 

Jim  was  walking  up  and  down  the  rotunda 
with  his  hands  in  his  pockets  when  a  small 
man  with  a  smooth,  boyish  face  stepped  up  to 
him. 

"  Are  you  Mr.  Matteson  ?  " 

"  I  'm  Jim  Matteson ;  what 's  wanted  ?  " 

"Of  Wagon  Wheel  Gap?" 

Jim  faced  him  with  a  quizzical  smile.  "  Hold 
on  right  there,  stranger.  I'm  the  man  with 
the  gold  brick.  You  're  wasting  valuable 
time." 

The  newspaper  man  smiled.  "  You  're  all 
right,  Jim.  Say,  you  must  know  Ed  Brai- 
nard?" 

"  I  do.     It 's  your  next  throw." 

"Well,  I  'm  Joe  McAllister  of  the  Denver 
'  Record.'  Ed  and  I  used  to  work  on  the 
'Journal'  together.  I  've  heard  him  talk  a 
whole  lot  about  you,  so  I  'lowed  I  'd  side 
track  you  for  a  little  interview." 

Jim  looked  at  the  little  man  with  keen  eyes. 
"  Well,  Joe,  I  'm  a  long  way  from  home,  it 's  a 


u6  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

cloudy  day,  and  the  formations  are  all  new  to 
me  here.  But  don't  you  run  away  with  any 
notion  that  I  'm  easy  game.  I  'm  out  for 
meat  myself,  and  the  man  that  steers  me 
into  a  dark  corner  is  sure  taking  desperate 
chances  ;  now,  that 's  right." 

McAllister  writhed  in  silent  laughter.  "  That 
proves  it !  Ed  used  to  spend  hours  telling 
yarns  about  you.  He  told  me  of  your  throw 
ing  the  white  goat  over  the  cliff." 

Jim  looked  surprised.     "  Did  he  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  and  also  about  the  time  you  de 
fended  the  Ute  squaw." 

Jim  's  open  palm  shot  out.  "  Joe,  how  are 
ye?  I  'm  glad  to  see  ye.  When  did  you 
come  to  town  ?  And  what 's  the  good  word 
from  the  hills?" 

They  shook  hands,  all  reserve  gone.  "  Come 
up  to  my  room,"  said  Joe.  "  I  '11  read  a  letter 
from  Ed  that  will  interest  you." 

As  they  stepped  into  the  elevator,  Jim  said 
to  the  boy :  "  Go  easy,  son ;  I  'd  hate  to  surge 
through  the  roof." 

"Would  n't  these  English  lifts  frost  a 
man  ?  "  asked  Joe.  "  This  is  one  of  the  best 
in  the  town,  but  it  rises  and  falls  with  the 
tide." 


A   RARE   FLOWER   OF   DECAY  117 

Joe's  room  was  littered  with  boots  and  un 
derwear  which  had  apparently  boiled  from  an 
open  trunk  and  mixed  with  dusty  newspapers. 
A  type- writer  stood  under  a  window,  and  a 
big  table,  inches  deep  with  a  litter  of  thin  yel 
low  paper,  filled  the  center  of  the  room.  Af 
ter  rooting  through  a  heap  of  this  rubbish 
Joe  found  Brainard's  letter  at  last,  and  sat 
down  to  read  it. 

It  was  breezy  and  slangy,  full  of  personali 
ties  and  news  of  the  camps,  and  on  Jim's  face 
a  shadow  fell.  For  the  first  time  since  leaving 
the  boat  he  was  homesick.  He  could  see  old 
Ouray  looming  like  a  vast  yellow  moon  in  the 
sky,  and  he  could  hear  the  Grizzly  Bear  roar 
ing  up  through  the  pines  of  its  deep  canon. 

"Stop  that!  "  he  said  suddenly.  "  You  '11 
have  me  layin'  down  my  pack  and  takin'  to 
the  back  trail.  Stop,  or  I  '11  cut  your  wind 
pipe." 

McAllister  laughed  incomprehension.  "Ed 
says  a  little  further  on  :  'I  hear  Jim  Matteson 
has  gone  to  London  to  sell  his  mine.  Look 
him  up  and  give  him  a  lift.' " 

"  That 's  Ed  all  over.  He 's  with  his  friend 
clear  through  till  the  spring  rains ;  he  sure  is 
loyal." 


il8  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"  What  about  this  mine  ?  "  asked  Joe.  "  Is 
that  true  ?  " 

"  I  reckon  it  is." 

Again  Jim  told  his  story  to  an  eager  lis 
tener  ;  but  at  the  end  Joe  said  slowly : 

"  You  've  gone  up  against  a  hard  proposi 
tion,  Jim.  You  see,  the  British  public  has 
been  worked  by  so  many  sharp  sports,  they 
won't  listen  to  a  man  with  a  good  thing.  I 
should  say  on  general  principles  that  you 
could  n't  sell  gold  dollars  at  three  shillings 
each  in  England  just  now.  Have  you  looked 
around  the  town  at  all  ?  " 

"  Well,  yes ;  I  Ve  cantered  around  a  few  — 
enough  to  get  the  slant  of  the  hills." 

"  Well,  let 's  go  out  and  take  a  ride  on  a  'bus, 
and  we  '11  talk  things  over.  I  like  to  look  at 
the  old  town  from  a  'bus.  A  good  deal  of  it 
has  n't  any  more  interest  than  a  railway-dump, 
but  you  want  to  see  it." 

As  they  climbed  into  the  front  seats  on  the 
top  of  the  omnibus,  he  said:  "I  '11  help  you 
on  this.  We  '11  make  a  go  of  it  or  set  a  wheel 
smoking." 

Jim  took  only  a  mild  interest  in  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral  and  the  Bank  of  England  and  the 
Tower.  The  bridges  were  of  more  value. 


A  RARE  FLOWER  OF   DECAY  119 

But  Joe  was  good  company,  and  he  talked 
with  him  very  freely,  and  together  they  made 
out  a  list  of  good  men  to  see. 

"  You  're  up  against  a  whole  lot  o'  work, 
Jim,  but  you  '11  pull  through.  If  anybody 
could  hypnotize  money  out  of  old  man 
Cramer  — " 

"  I  Ve  got  a  good  thing,  but  I  can't  stand 
expense.  I  Ve  got  to  do  my  work  quick. 
I  'm  like  the  feller  who  went  down  to  Mexico 
for  Walters  to  see  about  a  silver-mine.  First 
he  heard  of  the  chap  was  a  telegram :  '  On 
my  way  home  with  car-load  of  bar  silver.  Wire 
fifty  dollars  for  expenses.' ' 

Joe  laughed.     "  You  're  all  right." 

After  they  returned  to  the  hotel,  McAllister 
introduced  him  to  a  medley  of  people  —  a  re 
nowned  jockey,  a  couple  of  actors,  and  several 
newspaper  men.  Each  new  acquaintance 
wanted  to  show  his  good  will  by  treating,  and 
after  two  or  three  drinks  Jim  was  forced  to 
defend  himself  by  taking  cigars  or  "  fizz- 
water."  They  lunched  in  the  Turkish  room, 
and  by  that  time  Jim  was  a  little  weary  of  his 
new-found  friend. 

He  rose  on  the  second  morning  with  a 
determination  to  leave  the  Grand  Central. 


120  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"  It 's  a  little  too  rich  and  too  rapid  for  me,'" 
he  said  to  Joe.  "  I  Ve  lived  too  long  in  the 
hills  to  stand  this  kind  o'  thing.  When  I  was 
a  boy  I  used  to  be  crazy  to  have  the  thrashin'- 
machine  come ;  but  I  noticed  it  wore  on  me, 
and  the  farm-yard  seemed  mighty  restful  after 
it  was  gone.  Same  way  this  durned  circus 
kept  buzzin'  in  my  head  last  night.  So  I 
hunt  another  hole  to-day." 

He  moved  a  little  way  up  the  street  into  a 
neat-looking  small  hotel,  which  was,  in  fact, 
a  boarding-house  grown  ambitious.  It  had 
the  usual  plain  female  clerk  who  said  "  Thank 
you''  and  a  useless  porter.  The  mail  was 
spread  out  on  a  hall  table,  and  coats  and  hats 
and  umbrellas  hung  about  on  hooks  and  racks. 
The  elevator,  according  to  Jim,  had  the  speed 
of  cold  molasses,  and  the  man  who  ran  it 
stepped  off  now  and  then  to  go  and  mend  a 
trunk  or  move  a  bedstead,  while  the  bell  rang 
and  the  tenants  of  the  upper  floors  waited  in 
blasphemous  impatience.  The  fireplaces  were 
of  the  size  of  cigar-boxes,  and  the  tables 
were  like  camp-stools,  but  everything  was 
clean,  and  Jim  accepted  the  situation  without 
comment. 

His  room  looked  away  over  the  roofs  of 


A   RARE   FLOWER   OF   DECAY  121 

the  city  to  the  west,  and  the  roar  of  the 
Strand  came  up  like  angry  water.  That 
night,  as  he  sat  by  his  small  window  and 
watched  the  sulphurous  light  of  the  sunset 
fade  from  the  sky,  he  came  close  to  despair 
again.  Out  there  to  the  west  was  the  gray 
ocean,  and  it  was  a  long  way  to  Aspen  Park 
and  Bessie,  and  farther  yet  to  the  glittering 
peaks  of  the  Needle  Range.  He  clenched 
his  teeth  in  resolution  to  make  short  work 
of  the  task  in  hand  and  get  back.  His  was 
not  an  impatient  nature,  but  he  could  not 
help  feeling  the  futility  of  his  efforts  thus  far. 
From  this  chilly  little  room  he  descended 
each  morning  to  breakfast  on  fried  soles  and 
steak  and  coffee,  and  set  forth  into  the  city 
streets,  tracing  up  clues,  presenting  his  propo 
sition  to  whomever  would  listen.  At  night 
he  returned  to  his  bed  like  a  sick  eagle, 
sullen,  silent,  lonely.  The  city  did  not  inter 
est  him  very  much,  but  he  had  enough  of 
the  tourist  in  him  to  feel  the  need  of  seeing 
all  he  could  while  it  was  at  his  hand,  and  so 
when  he  had  a  spare  hour  he  wandered  away 
into  the  jungle  of  the  East  End.  McAllister 
called  once  or  twice  and  took  him  to  his  club 
and  gave  him  lunch  and  introduced  him  to 


122  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

several  of  his  friends,  who  were  pleased  with 
Jim's  stories  but  had  no  money  to  put  into 
his  mine.  They  all  said:  "  You  've  happened 
upon  London  at  a  bad  time.  We  're  flooded 
with  schemes  for  Canadian  and  South  African 
mines  just  now.  Sorry,  old  man,  you  know ; 
but  so  it  is." 

To  these  remarks  the  miner  merely  said : 
"I  'm  not  a  pot-hunter.  Work  goes  with 
this  killing,  and  I  down  my  meat  before  I  go 
back.  I  'm  due  to  win  a  big  chunk,  and  I  '11 
wait." 

Miss  Brien  continued  to  interest  him 
mightily.  In  all  his  moments  of  leisure  she 
filled  his  mind.  She  appealed  to  him  in  ways 
quite  different  from  Bessie,  and  he  mentally 
compared  them  —  to  Mary's  advantage.  She 
was  so  vivid,  so  swiftly  sympathetic,  so  keen 
to  comprehend,  that  talk  with  her  was  a 
greater  pleasure  than  with  any  one  else  he 
had  ever  known.  "  She  sure  keeps  me  guess 
ing,"  he  said  to  himself  each  time.  "  She  's 
a  new  kind."  Her  life,  her  associations,  were 
all  strange ;  so  were  Bessie's,  but,  neverthe 
less,  he  thought  he  understood  Bessie.  Mary 
had  more  complex  motives,  and  her  trail  cov 
ered  a  wider  and  more  wonderful  territory. 


A   RARE   FLOWER   OF   DECAY  123 

He  was  a  keen  analyst  in  his  way.  He  did 
not  merely  look,  he  saw,  and  comprehended 
a  great  deal  more  than  he  could  put  into 
words.  Miss  Brien  made  Bessie  seem  like  a 
sweet  child,  but  did  not  take  from  her  any 
charm.  They  were  so  different  that  neither 
lost  by  the  other's  presence. 

One  day  the  word  was  passed  from  the 
clerk  to  the  porter,  thence  to  the  elevator- 
man,  thence  to  the  chambermaid,  that  a  gen 
tleman  had  called  to  see  Mr.  Matteson,  and 
would  he  go  down  to  the  smoking-room  to 
see  him  ?  It  proved  to  be  Mary's  brother 
Will,  an  alert  young  fellow  of  rapid  speech. 
He  met  Jim  with  a  generous  hand-clasp. 

"  Mr.  Matteson,  I  'm  glad  to  see  you. 
Sorry  I  could  n't  have  met  you  at  Dr.  Rob 
ertson's.  My  sister  sends  her  compliments, 
and  wants  you  to  take  luncheon  with  us  this 
afternoon.  It 's  a  snap  shot,  but  we  could  n't 
get  the  people  my  sister  spoke  of,  so  you  are 
the  only  guest.  In  fact,  it  's  our  regular 
luncheon,  and  you  're  to  come  without  cere 
mony.  Hope  you  can  do  so." 

Jim  soberly  replied:  "What  your  sister 
says  goes.  Where  '11  we  meet-up  for  a 
start?" 


124  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"  I  was  commissioned  to  bring  you  back 
with  me,  if  possible." 

"  Reckon  I  'd  better  shake  off  a  rag  or  two. 
Can  you  wait  ?  " 

"  With  pleasure." 

"  I  '11  make  the  turn  in  about  two  jerks  of 
a  mule's  hind  leg,"  said  Jim,  gravely,  as  he 
turned  away. 

He  liked  young  Brien,  and  when  he  came 
down  again  he  began  abruptly : 

"  You  're  no  Britisher.  You  might  be  from 
Kansas  City  or  Chicago  ?  " 

"  Or  Cork,"  replied  Brien.  "  Are  you  get 
ting  acquainted  with  London  ?  " 

"Well,  not  to  hurt.  I  've  just  about  got 
the  lay  o'  the  land,  that  's  all.  The  forma 
tions  are  so  near  alike  I  can't  run  a  trail  with 
out  keepin'  an  eye  on  the  sun  —  and  there  's 
no  sun.  Have  n't  seen  my  shadow  but  once 
since  I  came." 

"  It  is  a  gloomy  old  sky,  don't  you  think  ?  " 

"  I  do.  It  sure  puts  the  cover  on  anything 
I  ever  saw.  People  here  all  look  like  corn 
stalks  in  a  cellar  ;  that 's  right.  Where  's  the 
big  red  Englishman  at  —  the  feller  we  always 
read  about  ?  " 

"  He  's  in  our  novels — and  in  the  country." 


A  RARE  FLOWER  OF  DECAY  125 

"Well,  I  reckon  he'd  better  stay  there: 
people  here  in  London  are  runty." 

As  they  came  out  upon  the  sidewalk  young 
Brien  led  the  way  to  a  carriage  in  waiting. 

Jim  stopped  him :  "  Hold  on.  If  it  's  just 
the  same  to  you,  I  'd  rather  ride  on  top  o'  one 
o'  these  circus-wagons.  I  can  see  where  I  'm 
a-goin'  to  better." 

Brien  smiled,  "  Oh,  certainly,"  and  dis 
missed  the  driver. 

As  they  mounted  a  'bus,  Jim  pointed  at  a 
couple  of  redcoats  out  on  leave,  and  broke 
loose : 

"  Will  you  tell  me  why  in  the  name  o'  Moses 
your  soldiers  carry  that  little  red  monkey-cap 
stuck  on  the  side  o'  their  heads  ?  They  sure 
make  a  man's  teeth  ache." 

"  That  cap  is  the  button  on  which  the  Eng 
lish  empire  hangs,"  replied  Brien.  "  It  repre 
sents  our  conservatism.  It  would  take  a 
revolution  to  get  rid  of  that  ridiculous  wart  on 
Tommy  Atkins's  head.  We  have  a  thousand 
things  just  as  absurd  as  that,  but  no  immediate 
change  can  take  place."  He  indicated  a  big 
building.  "  That 's  Westminster  Abbey." 

"  Aha !  I  want  to  know,"  said  Jim,  without 
interest. 


126  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"This  is  the  Parliament  Building." 

Jim  was  roused.  "  Say,  now  you  're  talkin'. 
So  that 's  where  your  Congress  meets,  is  it  ? 
I  'd  like  to  see  the  inside  o'  that  building." 

"I  '11  take  you  sometime." 

"  I  wish  you  would ;  I  'd  be  mighty 
obliged." 

He  looked  upward  at  the  splendid  mass. 
"  She  's  a  lou-lou — 'most  as  big  as  Cathedral 
Butte,"  he  said,  in  sincere  admiration. 

As  they  rolled  westward,  the  houses  grew 
larger  and  the  people  better  dressed,  and 
these  differences  did  not  escape  the  keen  gaze 
of  the  mountaineer. 

"We  're  in  the  plug-hat  belt  now,  sure 
thing,"  he  remarked,  as  they  passed  the  en 
trance  of  the  park.  A  little  farther  on  he 
raised  a  shout :  "  Wait !  There  's  a  flock  o' 
sheep  feedin'  on  the  park !  Well,  now,  that 
heads  me  off!  You  'd  suppose  them  sheep 
was  deef  and  blind.  See  'em  feed,  and  all 
the  racket  goin'  on  around  'em."  He  paused, 
and  a  slow  smile  crept  round  his  lips.  "  Makes 
me  think  of  a  pet  antelope  old  Navajo  Pete 
had  at  Taos.  A  gang  of  us  cow-punchers 
was  layin'  on  the  grass  one  Fourth  o'  July  in 
the  edge  o'  town,  waitin'  for  Pete  to  fry  us 
some  bacon,  when  up  feeds  this  antelope. 


A  RARE   FLOWER   OF   DECAY  127 

One  of  the  boys  lit  a  cracker  and  dropped  it 
under  the  brute's  nose.  I  expected  to  see 
Mr.  Antelope  jump  clear  over  the  tent  when 
it  went  off,  but  he  did  n't.  He  never  batted 
an  eye.  The  feller  threw  out  a  whole  bunch : 
the  antelope  fed  on  just  the  same.  Then 
Denver  Dan  come  a-runnin'  with  a  big  fifty- 
center, —  one  o'  these  things  as  big  as  a  can 
dle-stick, —  and  touched  it  smokin'  and  laid  it 
down  right  plumb  under  the  antelope's  nose. 
It  went  off  like  an  anvil  a-crackin',  and  when 
the  dust  cleared  away  that  durn  brute  was 
shakin'  his  ears  and  nippin'  grass  unconcerned 
as  a  can  o'  green  corn.  You  can't  always  tell 
about  these  shy  critters." 

Will  was  laughing  silently  at  Jim's  quaint 
yarn,  when  he  rose,  saying,  "  Here  we  are." 
They  got  down  at  the  corner  of  a  fine  street 
which  began  at  the  park,  and  a  few  moments' 
walk  brought  them  to  the  door  of  a  big  gray 
building,  which  stood  facing  a  little  green 
garden. 

Jim  looked  up  at  its  fa£ade,  and  said  slowly  : 
"  She  's  big  as  a  hotel.  Your  mine  must  be 
a  sure-enough  bonanza." 

Will  smiled.  "  Oh,  don't  think  we  own 
this;  we  only  have  a  flat  in  it." 

Jim  did  n't  know  what  a  flat  was,  but  ex- 


128  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

pected  to  find  out.  He  followed  young  Brien 
up  a  flight  of  stairs,  through  a  side  door,  and 
into  a  hall  filled  with  curious  things,  which  his 
eyes  took  in  with  a  swift  glance.  He  stooped 
to  examine  the  bottom  of  an  umbrella-stand, 
and  called  out  excitedly  :  "  Why,  here,  this  is 
an  elephant's  foot !  Real  thing  ? " 

"Yes,  the  real  thing.     I  killed  it  myself." 

"  And  this  lion  ?  " 

"  Killed  him,  too !  " 

Jim  straightened  up.  "  I  guess  I  Ve  un 
derestimated  you.  A  man  who  kills  lions  and 
elephants  is  a  sure-enough  hunter,  and  don't 
need  any  back  talk  from  me." 

Will  hastened  to  depreciate  himself:  "  But 
I  never  killed  a  grizzly.  I  want  to  go  to  the 
Rockies  and  get  a  grizzly.  I  suppose  you  Ve 
killed  a  lot  of  'em." 

Jim  looked  grave.  "  Nobody  kills  a  lot  o' 
grizzlies,  stranger.  I  Ve  had  my  share. 
They  're  lonesome  beasts,  and  they  make  a 
country  mighty  empty  when  they  come 
rampin'  down  a  grassy  slope.  Why,  howdy, 
howdy  !  I  'm  mighty  glad  to  see  you  again," 
he  said  as  Mary  came  out  to  greet  him. 

She  looked  prettier  than  ever  and  very  wo 
manly  in  the  modest  gray  dress  which  she 


A   RARE   FLOWER   OF   DECAY  129 

chose  with  design  to  please  Jim.  "I  can't  have 
you  talking  about  grizzly  bears  and  elephants 
where  I  cannot  hear  you.  Come  in.  Luncheon 
is  quite  ready." 

She  led  the  way  through  a  big,  well-lighted 
room  (which  the  mountaineer  studied  with 
another  swift  side  glance)  out  into  a  dining- 
room  set  for  three  only.  It  was  a  beautiful 
room,  and  Jim  said :  "  This  is  purty  slick  for 
an  old  Injun  like  me." 

"  Sit  right  opposite  me,  Jim,  where  I  can 
see  you.  Your  complexion  will  bear  the  light 
better  than  mine.  Now,  you  're  to  call  me 
Mary,  and  my  brother  Will." 

"All  right,  Mary ;  anything  at  all,"  replied 
Jim,  with  a  smile  such  as  women  rarely  saw 
on  his  face.  "  I  'm  agreeable." 

"  Since  when,  this  familiar  discourse  ? '' 
asked  Will.  "  Occasionally  you  surprise 
me." 

"  Oh,  it  began  immediately  after  we  became 
acquainted,  did  n't  it,  Jim  ?  " 

"  It  did  so.  All  my  friends  call  me  Jim.  I 
don't  think  I  'd  come  to  dinner  if  any  one 
shouted  '  Mister '  at  me.  We  don't  even  call 
a  congressman  Mister  in  Wagon  Wheel." 

"  Go  on  with  your  talk  about  grizzly  bears 


130  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

and  the  Rocky  Mountains,"  said  Mary.  "  I 
wish  I  might  see  them  ;  perhaps  I  shall  some 
time." 

A  shadow  fell  on  the  mountaineer's  face. 
"  They  're  not  what  they  were  when  I  first 
rode  through  the  Gap  fifteen  years  ago,"  he 
said  slowly.  "They  were  sure-enough  wild, 
at  least  in  places ;  but  now  the  silver-miners 
have  lined  every  hill  with  trails  and  spotted 
'em  with  cabins  and  pock-marked  'em  with 
prospect-holes.  I  Ve  done  my  share  of  it 
too — and  I  'm  ashamed  of  it.  The  game  is 
mostly  all  gone;  but  the  peaks  are  there." 
He  smiled  exultantly.  "  Can't  any  of  us  tear 
them  down  yet  awhile — "  He  paused  abruptly. 
"But  I  'm  not  playing  my  ace  for  Will  here 
to  trump  with  a  lion  story.  I  'm  layin'  low  in 
the  company  of  a  man  who  cuts  the  toe-nails 
of  elephants." 

"  Oh,  you  must  n't  mind  Will.  When  he 
goes  hunting  he  has  a  little  army  of  camp- 
followers  and  a  whole  magazine  of  special 
guns.  His  hunting  does  n't  call  for  bravery." 

Will  colored  a  little.  "That  is  true,  Jim. 
I  have  n't  pretended  to  do  the  kind  of  hunting 
you  Americans  do  ;  you  must  bear  me  out  in 
that.  The  Daniel  Boone  sort  of  thing  does  n't 


A  RARE  FLOWER   OF   DECAY  131 

suit  a  lazy  fellow  like  me.  Too  much  work 
about  it ;  too  lonesome,  too." 

Jim  looked  at  Will's  small  white  hands,  and 
then  at  his  own  big  hairy  knuckles.  "  I  guess 
we  did  n't  come  out  o'  the  same  box.  I  need 
exercise  to  keep  my  cog-wheels  workin' smooth 
—  I  need  it  right  now.  A  year  o'  London 
would  send  me  home  by  freight." 

"Have  n't  sold  your  mine,  have  you?" 
asked  Mary. 

"  Not  that  I  know  of.  I  Ve  been  twistin'  a 
forked  stick  down  a  whole  lot  of  holes,  but  no 
rabbit  shows  up  yet.  Have  n't  raised  a  bunch 
of  fur  even." 

Mary  looked  at  Will  comically,  then  back 
to  Jim.  "What  do  you  mean  by  that?  Do 
people  catch  rabbits  with  forked  sticks  ?  " 

"  I  used  to  when  I  was  a  kid." 

"  Have  you  seen  Twombly  ?  " 

"Twombly  keeps  the  other  side  o'  the 
ridge  ;  I  reckon  he  smells  bear." 

"  Well,  we  must  help  you  sell  that  mine. 
We  might  take  a  share  or  two  ourselves, 
Will?" 

"  I  'm  going  to  see  Twombly  myself  in  a 
day  or  two,"  replied  Will.  "  We  ought  to 
look  into  the  prospect,  at  least." 


132  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

All  the  time  this  talk  was  going  on  Jim 
and  the  girl  were  looking  into  each  other's 
eyes,  he  with  a  puzzled  intentness,  she  with 
a  singularly  eager  gaze.  Her  face  was  as 
fair  as  a  rose,  and  her  teeth  were  white  and 
even.  The  mountaineer's  eyes  grew  deep  and 
dark  with  a  growing  comprehension  of  her 
beauty. 

"Don't  you  think  he  's  like  Joe?"  Mary 
asked  abruptly  of  her  brother,  quite  as  though 
Jim  had  left  the  room. 

"Not  a  bit,"  replied  Will.  "Joe  was 
sandy." 

"  I  know ;  but  his  ways,  his  speech  ?  " 

"Well,  a  little  —  yes,  now  you  speak  of  it. 
There  are  some  similarities  —  due  to  the  out 
door  life,  I  fancy." 

Mary  turned  to  Jim.  "  Are  you  still  find 
ing  fault  with  our  climate  ?  " 

"I  'd  as  soon  live  in  a  cistern  with  the 
cover  on,"  he  replied  without  smiling. 

She  laughed  at  his  frank  disgust,  and  the 
curve  of  her  beautiful  lips  was  deeply  kllur- 
ing.  This  brilliant  creature,  as  swift  as  flame, 
was  a  dazzling  form  of  human  life  to  a  man 
accustomed  only  to  the  rudest  types  of  women. 
Her  audacity,  her  passion,  were  not  to  be 


A   RARE   FLOWER   OF   DECAY  133 

taken  for  what  they  seemed :  back  of  all  her 
moods  was  design.  What  her  motives  were 
he  could  not  divine.  He  was  not  a  clod.  He 
lacked  polish  and  training,  but  not  discern 
ment.  Mary's  mounting  interest  in  him 
moved  him  powerfully,  but  instead  of  growing 
voluble  he  became  silent,  and  at  last  looked 
at  her  with  a  meditative,  absent-minded  stare 
which  puzzled  her. 

"  It 's  a  strange  thing  —  I  can't  quite  think 
you  are  real,"  she  said.  "  I  feel  as  though  I 
were  reading  a  story." 

"Same here,"  he  replied,  with  curt  gravity. 
"  Play  your  next  card." 

Mary  laughed.     "  I  know  what  you  mean." 

The  brother,  in  obedience  to  a  significant 
look  from  his  sister,  strolled  away  and  left  the 
two  together.  Mary  leaned  her  chin  on  her 
folded  hands,  and  said : 

"Jim,  I  like  you,  and  I  'm  going  to  help 
you  sell  that  mine." 

"That 's  mighty  white  of  you,"  he  replied. 
"  If  I  don't  sell  I  'm  sure  side-tracked  in 
'  Lonesome  Valley.' " 

"  I  suppose  there  's  a  woman  waiting  for 
you  somewhere  ?  " 

"  I  'm  not  so  sure  of  that.     I  wish  there  was. 


134  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

I  Ve  got  a  notion  I  could  find  one  somewhere 
if  I  had  time  to  take  a  lantern  and  go  look 
— especially  after  I  sell  my  mine." 

She  reached  her  right  hand  toward  him 
with  a  sudden  pretty  gesture.  "  Jim,  confide 
in  me.  Were  you  ever  in  love  ?  "  He  did  not 
reply  instantly,  and  she  added  swiftly :  "  Now, 
don't  be  angry ;  we  're  going  to  be  chums, 
you  know." 

Jim  twisted  in  his  seat ;  at  length  he  said 
slowly:  "Well,  I  '11  tell  you  how  it  is.  Men 
like  me  don't  use  that  word  very  often." 

"  What  word  ?  "  she  asked  relentlessly. 

He  ignored  her  question.  "  I  Ve  liked  a 
couple  of  girls  pretty  well  in  my  time.  I 
reckon  I  'd  'a'  married  one  of  'em,  only  things 
did  n't  come  my  way,  and  so  I  got  off  the 
bridge  and  let  the  other  feller  go  by.  Now, 
see  here,"  he  said,  with  a  sudden  smile,  "it 's 
your  ante — who  is  this  'Joe'  you  mentioned 
a  little  piece  back  ?  " 

She  looked  away.  When  she  faced  him 
her  eyes  were  wet.  "  He  was  a  man — a  big 
man  like  you.  He  liked  the  sun  and  the 
woods  and  the  mountains,  and  talked  of  them 
with  the  same  wild  light  in  his  eyes.  He  was 
an  Irishman,  and  that  means  he  would  have 


A  RARE   FLOWER  OF  DECAY  135 

been  a  comrade  to  you  in  any  enterprise  that 
bespoke  freedom  and  good  will  to  man.  He 
went  to  Africa  one  autumn,  and  he  never  came 
back  to  me.  He  went  away  on  an  expedition 
into  the  wild  country  with  no  one  but  ne 
groes  for  company.  A  fever  seized  him,  and 
he  died  among  the  blacks,  who  loved  him 
and  buried  him  and  put  a  cairn  above  his 
grave — " 

She  paused  and  closed  her  eyes  tightly  as 
if  to  keep  back  the  tears,  but  they  came  steal 
ing  out  in  spite  of  her  will,  wetting  the  edges 
of  her  long  lashes. 

Jim's  heart  grew  very  tender,  and  reaching 
out  a  long  arm,  he  took  her  hand.  "  See 
here,  little  woman,  that 's  powerful  hard  lines. 
I  wish  I  could  'a'  been  there  to  help  Joe." 

She  withdrew  her  hand  and  smiled  up  at 
him  with  pathetic  brightness.  "  Now  I  'm 
ashamed  of  my  nerves.  You  men  are  so  big 
and  slow-moving.  I  wish  I  had  your  power 
to  be  calm  and  — "  She  shook  off  her  emo 
tion.  "  It 's  just  nerves ;  you  can't  understand 
it.  We  of  the  civilized  centers  are  just  rotten 
with  nerves.  Don't  talk  about  me  any  more  ; 
tell  me  all  about  yourself.  Tell  me  about  the 
snow-slides  and  the  way  the  rocks  fall  in  the 


136  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

spring.  Dr.  Robertson  said  you  gave  a  won 
derful  talk  about  these  things  the  last  time 
you  were  there — and  do  you  know  you've 
converted  Mrs.  Robertson  ?  " 

"  Converted  her  to  what  ?  " 

"  To  a  liking  for  you.  She  could  n't  toler 
ate  you  at  first." 

"  Could  n't  she  ?  I  don't  remember  asking 
her  to  do  anything  with  me  but  just  let  me 
alone." 

"  She  's  quite  enthusiastic  over  you  now. 
She  's  to  have  another  dinner-party  soon,  and 
Mr.  Twombly  is  to  be  there.  We  are  all 
going  to  help  you  corral  Twombly — corral  is 
right,  is  n't  it  ?  "  she  added  brightly. 

"  It  '11  do ;  but  I  want  to  rope  and  tie  him 
myself." 

She  puzzled  an  instant  over  his  phrase,  then 
said:  "We  are  all  united  in  a  desire  to  sac 
rifice  Twombly.  He  's  rich,  and  a  mining 
engineer,  and  thinks  he  knows  all  about  such 
things.  He  can  command  barrels  of  money, 
as  you  Americans  say."  She  called  her  bro 
ther,  who  was  reading  by  the  window  of  the 
sitting-room  :  "  Will,  come  here  a  moment." 

Will  rose  and  came  forward  with  a  quizzical 
smile  on  his  face.  "  Have  you  just  missed 


A   RARE   FLOWER   OF   DECAY  137 

me  ?  I  Ve  read  the  '  Tale  of  Desert  Sands  ' 
half-way  through.  I  'm  bound  to  say  I  would 
rather  have  listened  to  Jim,  however.  What 
are  you  talking  about  ?  " 

"  Oh,  grizzlies  and  Indians — at  least,  I  'm 
about  to  ask  Jim  concerning  the  Indians.  Are 
they  as  fierce  as  people  say  ?  " 

Jim  hesitated  a  little.  "  Well,  now,  I  '11  tell 
you  about  the  Injuns.  I  never  lived  with  'em, 
like  '  Black  Mose,'  but  I  can  sign-talk  a  little, 
and  I  Ve  seen  a  good  deal  of  four  or  five 
tribes,  and  I  don't  line  up  against  'em  the  way 
some  men  do.  They  're  walkin'  hard  lines 
these  days,  and  it  appears  to  me  they  're  doin' 
better  than  I  could  in  their  places."  There 
was  unmistakable  gravity  in  Jim's  voice.  "As 
I  say,  I  don't  like  'em  very  much  —  any  more 
than  I  do  Chinamen ;  but  then,  they  're  hu 
mans,  same  as  the  rest  of  us,  and  mighty 
patient,  considerin'  the  projeckin'  they  have 
to  stand  on  the  part  of  cattle-men  and  agents." 

Will  looked  very  serious.  "  I  suppose  it 's 
with  them  as  it  is  with  our  black  fellows  down 
in  the  Colony.  They  're  very  decent  chaps 
when  given  fair  treatment." 

"The  way  I  put  it  up  is  like  this,"  Jim 
went  on:  "they  have  a  right  to  their  way 


138  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

of  thinkin',  and  they  Ve  got  a  right  to  a 
place  on  earth  —  but  they  are  up  against  a 
hard  outfit." 

As  Mary  rose  a  little  later,  Jim  said :  "  I  'm 
much  obliged  for  this  snack.  It 's  been  right 
hearty  grub.  When  you  call  at  my  shack  on 
the  edge  of  the  Grizzly  Bear,  I  '11  give  you 
snow-water  to  drink  and  mountain  trout  baked 
in  the  ashes.  If  I  'm  not  in  when  you  come 
by,  just  help  yourself  to  any  cold  coffee  or 
beans  you  may  find,  and  camp  till  I  come 
home." 

"  We  will,  we  will !  "  cried  Mary.  "  Cold 
beans  !  Think  of  it !  I  never  ate  cold  beans 
in  my  life." 

"Well,  I  never  eat  much  of  anything  else. 
That  sizes  us  both  up,  I  reckon,"  said  Jim, 
with  a  sly  smile,  as  they  were  returning  to 
the  sitting-room. 

"  Here  are  some  photographs  of  my  coun 
try,"  said  Will,  handing  a  handful  of  amateur 
prints  to  the  miner.  "I  did  them  myself. 
They  're  rather  good,  don't  you  think  ?  " 

"You  mean  Africa?  Can't  get  it  into  my 
head  Africa  is  anything  but  a  sand  desert  or 
a  thick  swamp  full  of  snakes  as  big  as  stove 
pipes.  I  heard  a  feller  lecture  about  it  once 


A   RARE  FLOWER  OF  DECAY  139 

in  Wagon  Wheel,  and  never  have  had  any 
notion  o'  goin'  there  since." 

As  he  ran  the  photographs  over  in  his 
hand  his  attention  was  arrested.  "  Hello  ! 
Why,  this  looks  like  New  Mexico  —  and  say, 
here  's  a  chap  that  can  set  a  horse !  What  is 
he  —  Australian  ?  " 

"  No ;  he  's  one  of  our  South  African  fel 
lows.  Rather  good  seat,  don't  you  think  ?  " 

"  He  's  all  right ;  but  the  dudes  I  see  here 
in  your  parks  break  my  sleep — knees  all 
hunched  up,  reins  in  both  hands ;  they  all 
ride  like  a  sack  o'  shot.  They  ought  to  be 
arrested  for  disturbin'  the  peace." 

"  I  wish  I  could  see  you  ride,"  said  Mary. 

"That  's  easy.  Bring  on  your  horse  and 
saddle,  and  your  strip  o'  road,  and  I  '11  show 
you  how  we  do  it  in  the  West." 

Mary  instantly  seized  upon  the  idea. 
"We  '11  do  it!  Will,  have  Admiral  saddled 
for  Jim.  I  '11  take  Dapple,  and  we  '11  off  for  a 
ride.  Come,  let  's  out  for  a  lark!"  She 
glowed  with  anticipation  of  it. 

Will  was  also  interested.  "  Very  well ;  I  '11 
order  the  horses  saddled  at  once.  You  '11  just 
have  time  to  take  a  turn." 

Jim    interposed:   "But  wait.     I  can't  ride 


140  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

in  these  togs.  I  ought  to  have  a  short  coat 
and  'chaps,'  at  least." 

"  What  are  '  chaps '  ?  " 

"  A  sort  of  leather  leggings.  The  boys 
used  to  wear  'em  in  the  mesquite  country ; 
they  're  supposed  to  be  the  proper  outfit  for  a 
cow-boy,  and  I  reckon  you  want  me  to  look 
the  whole  proposition  ?  " 

"  Oh,  we  '11  fix  you  out,"  said  Will.  "  You 
can  take  my  leggings  and  breeches." 

Jim  smiled.  "  I  reckon  you  '11  need  to  let 
'em  all  out  a  link  or  two.  No ;  if  you  've  got 
any  sort  of  jacket  that  I  can  squeeze  into,  I 
can  put  a  wrinkle  into  my  pants  and  hold 
'em  down  some  way.  This  coat  is  the  main 
trouble." 

"  Oh,  we  '11  furnish  you,  never  fear ! " 
replied  Mary,  as  she  ran  out  of  the  room  to 
dress. 

Will  took  Jim  to  his  room  and  fitted  him 
out  with  a  reefer,  which  was  a  very  decent 
fit  next  to  Jim's  shirt.  "  Man,  what  a  chest 
you  have ! "  he  said,  as  he  watched  Jim  wriggle 
into  it. 

"How  would  this  do  for  a  sombrero?"  he 
asked,  holding  up  a  clay-colored  hat  with  a 
rooster's  feather  in  the  band. 


A  RARE   FLOWER   OF   DECAY  141 

Jim's  eyes  lightened.  "  First-rate.  Where  'd 
you  dig  that  up  at  ?  " 

"  It  's  an  Australian  militiaman's  head 
gear." 

Jim  took  it  and  looked  it  over  carefully. 
"  I  'm  a  little  suspicious  of  the  feather,  but  the 
rest  of  it  is  in  line,"  he  said. 

He  bluntly  refused  to  wear  the  hunting- 
breeches.  "  No ;  thank  ye  kindly,  but  I 
would  n't  be  found  dead  in  such  things.  Why, 
they  look  like  two  quarters  of  venison.  I  '11 
just  slip  your  leggings  over  my  pants — 
that  's  the  checker;  makes  me  look  like  a 
'  yaller-legged  expert,'  as  the  boys  say  in 
Wagon  Wheel ;  but  they  '11  do  for  the  once. 
Would  n't  the  boys  make  it  hot  for  me  in 
this  rig !  " 

As  they  all  met  in  the  library,  Mary 
clapped  her  hands  in  joy  of  his  appearance. 
"  You  are  superb ! "  she  said,  facing  him 
nearly. 

Jim  smiled  down  at  her  as  if  humoring  a 
child.  The  top  of  her  riding-hat  came  just  to 
his  chin.  "  Little  pardner,  I  can  return  the 
compliment.  You  're  as  neat  as  a  smoke 
less  cartridge.  You  look  like  a  girl  that 
come  a-ridin'  over  the  Silver  City  trail  one 


I42  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

day  and  spoiled  every  man's  appetite  for  a 
week." 

She  laughed.  "  How  dreadful !  I  hope 
I  shall  not  interfere  with  your  enjoyment  of 
dinner."  She  thrust  out  her  hand.  "  Please 
button  my  glove  ?  " 

Jim  took  the  little  hand  in  his  bear-like 
paws.  "  I  never  did  such  a  thing  in  my  life 
before,  but  I  'm  letting  no  good  thing  pass  me 
to-day.  Great  Moses !  what  a  wrist !  'Bout 
as  big  as  a  lizard's,  ain't  it  ?  " 

She  made  a  mouth  of  disgust,  and  tried  to 
take  her  hand  away.  He  held  it  in  his  big 
right  fist. 

"Hold  on,  now  —  don't  get  grouchy.  A 
iizard  has  a  mighty  purty  hand — purty  as  a 
baby's.  You  need  n't  get  mad  over  it.  I 
was  handing  you  out  a  compliment." 

"  Indeed  !  were  you  ?  I  don't  enjoy  being 
compared  to  reptiles.  Well,  we  must  be 
going,"  she  said,  and  Will  led  the  way  down 
into  the  courtyard,  where  a  groom  was  hold 
ing  a  couple  of  saddled  horses. 

Jim  looked  them  over  critically.  "  They  're 
clipped  and  sandpapered  and  polished  by 
hand  like  your  fields,"  he  said,  "too  slick  for 
any  use.  Regular  rocking-horses." 


A  RARE  FLOWER  OF   DECAY  143 

Mary  was  disappointed.  "  Don't  you  like 
them  ?  Whoa,  Dapple !  You  dare  n't  say 
she  is  n't  lovely !  Don't  you  think  she  is 
handsome  ?  " 

"  M-m — yes — oh,  yes  ;  they  're  purty,  but  I 
was  wondering  how  they  'd  stand  a  sixty- 
mile  jaunt  over  the  hills.  You  ride  the  gray, 
do  ye  ?  Well,  gimme  your  foot !  " 

"  Oh,  Ferguson  will  help,  thank  you." 

Jim  stopped  the  groom.  "  Ferguson,  you  're 
not  in  it  this  time.  When  I  take  a  girl  out, 
I  do  all  the  waitin'  and  tendin'  myself.  Come, 
up  ye  go  !  "  He  took  his  position  beside  the 
horse. 

Mary  laughingly  put  her  small  foot  in  his 
lowered  palm,  and  he  commanded,  "  Now, 
jump  ! " 

She  rose  to  the  saddle  with  a  precision 
which  pleased  him.  "  You  're  on  to  your 
job."  He  grasped  her  foot.  "  Here  's  the 
stirrup ;  where  's  your  knee  ?  "  He  laid  his 
hand  on  her  knee.  "  Your  stirrup  's  too  high. 
What  in  Sam  Hill  do  you  English  hunch 
your  knees  up  that  way  for  ?  Straighten  your 
leg."  He  let  the  stirrup  down  a  couple  of 
holes.  "  There,  that  's  more  like  it.  You 
want  to  grip  your  horse.  If  I  had  you  on 


144  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

the  trail  a  few  days  I  'd  show  you  how  to 
ride."  He  turned  to  his  own  mount  "  So 
I  'm  to  ride  this  tin  pony,  am  I  ?  And  on  that 
back-pad  ? " 

He  gathered  the  reins  into  his  left  hand, 
and  leaped  into  the  saddle  without  touching 
the  stirrup.  The  horse,  surprised  and  alarmed, 
sprang  wildly  forward,  and  being  checked 
strongly,  reared  high  on  his  hind  legs,  and 
slipped  and  fell  backward.  Mary  uttered  a 
cry  of  terror,  and  the  groom  and  Will  rushed 
forward.  Jim  came  down  safely  on  his  feet 
beside  the  excited  animal,  and  his  face  had  a 
comical  look  as  he  said:  "Why,  it  is  alive! 
Don't  be  scared;  I  won't  hurt  him.  He  '11 
get  used  to  me  in  a  few  minutes.  Get  up, 
Sampson  ! "  As  the  horse  rose,  Jim  took  his 
seat  again.  And  as  he  soothed  the  horse  to 
a  standstill,  he  remarked :  "  There  ain't  any 
new  tricks  for  a  pony  like  this  to  teach  an  old 
cow-puncher.  This  saddle  queers  me,"  he 
added.  "  Like  ridin'  a  silk-handkerchief." 
Letting  down  the  stirrups  several  inches,  he 
set  spur  to  the  dancing  horse. 

"  What  does  an  English  horse  know  about 
the  rein?"  He  urged  the  horse  about  the 
court,  trying  to  guide  him,  cow-boy  fashion, 


A   RARE   FLOWER   OF   DECAY  145 

by  pressing  the  rein  across  the  neck ;  but  the 
horse  only  gaumed.  "  Not  a  blame  thing ! 
I  don't  suppose  there  's  a  horse  in  England 
knows  the  cross-neck  rein.  You  can't  do  any 
high-class  riding  while  you  rein  like  a  dray 
man,"  he  explained  to  Will.  "Well,  the  pro 
cession  is  ready  to  move.  Strike  out !  I  '11 
keep  alongside  someway." 

As  they  rode  out  through  the  arched  gate 
way  into  the  street,  Mary  realized  for  the  first 
time  how  indisguisably  big  and  singular  her 
cavalier  was.  The  long,  straight  thrust  of  his 
legs,  the  swing  of  his  powerful  shoulders,  the 
graceful  suppling  of  every  joint  of  his  frame  to 
the  horse's  motion,  would  have  made  him  a 
marked  figure  even  in  conventional  riding- 
dress  ;  clothed  in  close-fitting  black  trousers, 
gray  coat,  and  gray  sombrero,  he  looked  as 
alien  as  an  Arapaho. 

Mary  was  vastly  pleased  with  him.  "  You 
ride  like  Buffalo  Bill,"  she  said.  "I  like  it; 
it  's  so  different  from  our  way.  Everybody 
will  take  you  for  an  Australian,  with  that 
hat." 

"I  don't  mind  that;  but  I  'd  hate  to  be 
taken  for  a  London  dude  or  an  earl,  or  any 
thing  like  that." 


146  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"  You  are  quite  safe,"  she  said,  laughing  up 
at  him.  "How  do  I  ride  ? " 

"  Like  the  queen  of  Barnum's  circus." 

"  Thank  you  for  another  original  compli 
ment." 

"  No  compliment  at  all ;  just  the  plain 
God's  truth.  Don't  it  go  better  with  that 
knee  down  ?  " 

"  Indeed,  yes.  I  shall  always  ride  this  way 
hereafter — in  memory  of  you." 

"  I  'm  not  dead  yet,"  he  said ;  "  but  I  think 
I  would  be  if  I  had  to  live  a  year  in  this  city. 
I  'd  get  so  I  could  n't  ride  a  horse  down  to 
the  spring  and  back."  He  sat  his  trotting 
horse  without  apparent  concern  as  to  its  gait, 
while  Mary  rose  and  fell  in  the  English  fashion. 

"Whole  lot  of  exercise  connected  with  that 
way  of  riding,"  remarked  Jim.  "  Ought  to 
produce  calves  like  a  killdee's.  It  tickled  the 
boys  mightily  the  first  time  they  saw  an  Eng 
lishman  ride  that  way ;  it  was  in  Garden 
City—" 

He  broke  off  and  followed  Mary's  lead 
through  a  granite  gateway. 

Entering  the  park,  they  rode  along  a  great 
curving  driveway,  which  was  thick  with  car 
riages  moving  slowly,  formally  —  great  glit- 


A  RARE  FLOWER  OF   DECAY  147 

tering  vehicles  drawn  by  sleek  horses,  the 
embodiment  of  family  pride  and  fixed  income 
to  Jim,  who  looked  upon  the  stolid  faces 
of  the  occupants  with  instinctive  hatred. 
They  represented  to  him  the  pitiless  few  who 
live  on  the  toil  of  thousands,  corrupt  and  self- 
satisfied. 

Some  of  the  heavy  women  in  these  car 
riages  recognized  Mary  and  bowed,  and  some 
of  the  men  in  tall  hats  also  saluted  her;  but 
she  turned  to  Jim  and  said:  "  I  'm  not  going 
to  see  anybody  but  you  this  afternoon.  It 's 
too  much  bother  for  you."  She  watched  him 
as  he  rode  at  ease.  "  Does  n't  that  trot  tire 
you  ?  Shall  we  gallop  ?  " 

Jim  smiled.  "I  Ve  rode  on  a  worse  trot 
than  this  ten  hours  at  a  stretch  without  eat 
ing  or  drinking.  Of  course  I  was  n't  doing  it 
for  fun  — "  He  broke  off  and  rode  in  silence 
for  a  few  moments.  "That  was  in  western 
Kansas — "  Suddenly  the  strangeness,  the 
impossibility,  of  his  condition  swept  over  him. 
To  be  riding  thus  in  the  heart  of  London  with 
a  woman  whose  life  was  as  far  removed  from 
his  as  this  terraced  drive  was  from  the  Kit 
Carson  trail,  was  the  inconceivable  realized. 
For  an  instant  it  seemed  a  dream.  It  seemed 


148  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

that  he  could  turn  his  horse's  head  and  ride 
away  into  the  plains,  and  in  an  hour  see  the 
San  Francisco  peaks  loom  in  the  deep-blue 
sky.  It  could  not  be  that  three  thousand 
miles  of  gray  water  and  nearly  the  same  ex 
panse  of  earth  lay  between  this  smooth  drive, 
glittering  with  carriages,  and  the  green-and- 
purple  slopes  of  Mount  Ouray.  He  swept 
his  hand  across  his  eyes  as  if  to  clear  his 
vision. 

"What  are  you  thinking  about,  cow-boy?" 
Mary  asked,  pulling  her  horse  down  to  a  walk, 
and  turning  a  radiant  face  upon  him. 

He  did  not  smile.  "  I  'm  thinkin'  I  'm  a 
long  way  from  home,  and  night  comin'  on," 
he  replied.  "  I  feel  as  lonesome  as  I  did  once 
when  I  was  ridin'  through  the  Navajo  reser 
vation.  You  see,  I  'd  been  prospectin'  around 
down  just  over  the  line,  and  on  my  way  out  I 
took  a  short  cut  toward  Durango.  I  did  n't 
know  that  a  lot  o'  lahees  had  been  on  the 
reservation,  and  that  old  Black  Fox  was  on 
his  ear,  till  I  was  high  on  the  divide  and  into 
the  thick  of  the  fuss.  The  worst  of  it  was  I 
had  a  pick  and  shovel  on  my  pack-mule,  and  I 
did  n't  want  to  throw  'em  away.  First  I  knew, 
a  raw-boned  old  Injun  come  a-runnin'  out  of  a 


A  RARE   FLOWER   OF   DECAY  149 

hogan,  and,  pointing  at  my  tools,  began  to  jab 
ber  bloody  murder.  Then  the  whole  blame 
settlement  come  pilin'  out.  The  women 
joined  in,  and  the  dogs,  too.  They  sure  are 
a  hot  people  when  they  wake  up,  and  I 
was  nervous.  I  put  up  some  sign-talk,  and 
asked,  '  What  's  the  row  ? '  Then  the  old 
hosteen  said  that  some  white  men  had  been  on 
Navajo  land  digging  for  gold,  that  the  people 
were  angry,  and  that  Black  Fox  threatened 
to  kill  every  white  man  found  digging  inside 
the  Navajo  lines." 

Mary's  eyes  were  wide  with  interest. 
"  Were  n't  you  frightened  ?  " 

"Well,  I  can't  say  I  felt  like  Saturday 
night,  but  I  handed  out  a  fancy  bluff.  I  told 
the  old  hosteen  to  take  my  back  trail,  and  if 
he  found  I  had  been  digging  on  Indians'  land 
I  'd  give  'em  my  whole  outfit.  Finally  he 
made  the  sign  to  follow,  and  off  we  pattered 
straight  toward  a  big  black,  pine-covered 
butte.  It  was  sure  a  wild  country  and  new  to 
me.  We  rode  till  about  ten  o'clock,  passing 
through  a  settlement  once  in  a  while,  and 
trailing  along  a  lot  of  sassy-looking  warriors. 
It  certainly  looked  owly  for  Jim ;  but  I  kept 
a  wooden  lip,  and  rode  along  tired  and  hun- 


150  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

gry.  Finally  we  slid  down  into  a  deep  val 
ley,  into  a  snarl  of  dogs,  and  pulled  up  in  a 
big  village.  Then  four  different  things  broke 
loose.  For  five  minutes  I  could  n't  hear  a 
thing  but  the  yapping  of  dogs,  and  the  hish- 
ing  of  the  women  and  young  uns  as  they  tried 
to  stop  the  howl.  When  the  dogs  finally  shut 
up,  the  hosteen  raised  a  signal-yawp,  and  an 
old  chief  came  out  and  gave  a  few  orders,  and 
I  was  snaked  over  to  his  hogan,  and  he  said, 
'  Who  are  you  ? '  I  told  him  I  was  a  miner. 

"  'What  are  you  on  Indians'  land  for?'  he 
asked. 

"  I  told  him. 

"  '  You  are  lying,'  he  says. 

"'That  's  all  right,'  I  signed;  'but  you 
send  a  man  back  on  my  trail  and  see  —  be 
sides,  I  'm  hungry,'  I  said.  The  old  chief 
turned  and  gave  orders  for  some  grub,  and 
suspended  my  trial  till  I  filled  up  on  roast  mut 
ton  and  pounded  corn.  All  of  a  sudden  I  had 
a  bright  notion.  '  You  know  Blazing  Hand  ? ' 
I  asked.  The  old  chap  got  interested  right 
off.  '  Yes ;  what  of  it  ?  '  he  says,  gruff  as  a 
grizzly.  I  could  see  I  had  him  going. 

"'Well,  I  am  his  brother.  See  here.'  I 
took  out  my  wallet  and  I  showed  'em  a  little 


A  RARE  FLOWER  OF  DECAY  151 

tintype  picture  of  Mose.  They  all  fell  on  my 
neck.  Nothing  was  good  enough  for  me 
after  that.  They  hardly  let  me  sleep  a  wink. 
I  had  to  spin  a  lot  of  fancy  talk  about  Mose. 
I  knew  he  stood  in  with  'em ;  but  I  did  n't 
know  he  was  considered  the  angel  Gabriel." 

"  How  strange,  how  wonderful !  Who  was 
this  '  Mose  '  ?  "  asked  Mary.  The  two  horses 
were  walking  along  a  quiet  curve  of  the 
drive. 

"Mose?  Well,  Mose  is  the  real  thing. 
He  don't  wear  long  hair  nor  a  fringed  shirt ; 
but  he  's  the  best  shot,  the  sandiest  bronco- 
buster,  and  the  best  man  to  a  man  in  trouble 
that  ever  drifted  over  the  divide.  There  's 
some  mystery  about  Mose.  They  say  he  was 
thrown  down  by  his  girl.  I  don't  know  any 
thing  about  that,  for  Mose  is  a  mighty  bad 
man  to  cross-examine.  Everybody  in  the 
mountains  knows  Black  Mose,  and  the  Indians 
just  about  think  he  's  king  of  the  grizzlies." 

It  was  Mary's  turn  to  look  thoughtful  now. 
Jim's  voice,  words,  accent,  and  above  all  his 
emotions,  were  so  alien  to  her  thought,  her  life, 
and  her  surroundings  that  they  appealed  to  her 
imagination  with  great  power.  She  looked  up 
at  him.  His  handsome  face  was  set  in  resolute 


152  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

lines ;  his  skin  was  brown  with  the  winds  of 
the  mountains;  and  every  movement  of  his 
splendid  body  suggested  free  spaces.  A  sud 
den  disgust  seized  her. 

"  How  mean  and  restricted  all  this  seems 
to  me  when  you  talk ! "  she  said,  indicating  the 
swarming  walks  and  drives  of  the  park. 
"  You  take  me  to  the  big,  vital,  earthy  things. 
You  make  me  feel  the  fascination  of  a  world 
where  clothes  count  for  nothing,  and  where 
'  society '  has  no  meaning.  See  these  people 
stare ! "  she  said  in  sudden  bitter  loathing. 
"  See  these  two-legged  things  in  long  coats 
and  tall  hats.  They  think  they  're  men  !  If 
you  and  Joe  and  Mose  are  men,  what  are 
they?  Oh,  I  'm  heart-weary  of  the  life  we 
call  civilized.  We  're  all  rotten  and  dying  of 
it.  Nine  tenths  of  us  are  degenerates.  Look 
at  me,  with  arms  like  your  little  fingers,  and 
a  head  full  of  hate  of  God  and  man.  What  is 
the  good  of  it  all  ?  Come,  let  us  escape  ! " 

She  struck  her  horse  with  the  whip,  and 
galloped  away  beyond  the  reach  of  those  who 
sauntered  idly  along  the  garden  side  of  the 
drive. 

Jim  spurred  after  her,  stirred  by  the  inten 
sity  of  her  passionate  voice  and  her  blazing 


A  RARE  FLOWER  OF   DECAY  153 

eyes,  comprehending  little  of  the  sudden  deep 
disquiet  below  the  words  she  uttered. 

When  he  reached  her  side  again  they  were 
beyond  the  crowds,  and  she  said  lightly, 
"  What  do  you  think  of  our  parks  ?  " 

He  understood  her  desire  to  cover  her 
emotional  outburst.  "  Your  trees  are  mighty 
fine,"  he  replied,  looking  at  the  splendid  old 
oaks  and  elms.  "  They  look  like  the  pines 
that  grow  in  the  canons  deep  down  out  of 
the  wind.  A  tree  is  a  neighbor  to  me  any 
where.  I  remember  the  first  time  I  ever  saw 
a  big  pine.  It  was  on  the  old  Kit  Carson 
trail ;  I  'd  lived  on  the  Kansas  prairies  all 
my  life  up  to  that  time,  and  had  never  seen 
anything  but  a  cottonwood  or  a  willow,  and 
when  I  turned  a  corner  and  sighted  a  bunch 
of  big  pines  I  set  up  a  yell." 

"You  started  to  say  something  about  the 
way  all  this  affected  you,"  said  Mary  a  few 
moments  later,  indicating  the  slowly  moving 
streams  of  carriages  across  the  green,  the 
troops  of  horsemen  on  shining  horses  rising 
and  falling  laboriously  in  their  saddles,  the 
richly  dressed  ladies  on  the  walks,  attended  by 
men  all  alike  in  tall  hats  and  long  coats.  Jim 
looked  at  the  scene  with  serious  eyes,  but  did 


154  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

not  reply  till  Mary  asked,  "What  do  you  think 
of  it?" 

The  mountaineer's  face  grew  thoughtful. 
11  It  scares  me ;  it  sure  does.  I  'd  rather 
break  a  leg  in  the  middle  of  the  Navajo  reser 
vation  than  fall  sick  here.  I  could  n't  trust 
these  black-coated  dudes  for  a  minute. 
They  'd  see  a  man  die,  squinting  at  him  all 
the  while  through  their  eye-glasses.  I  s'pose 
they  mean  well  enough,  too ;  but  they  don't 
know  how  it  is  themselves.  I  'm  afraid  of 
cities,  anyhow  ;  they  're  just  like  so  many  rat 
tlesnake  pastures  to  me.  I  can't  trust  the 
people.  I  only  know  six  men  in  Denver  and 
one  man  and  two  women  in  Chicago ;  all  my 
friends  live  in  the  mountains  or  on  the  range. 
You  can  trust  a  mountaineer  to  take  care  of 
any  man  that  falls  down;  but  here — not  on 
your  life !  It 's  dog  eat  dog  when  you  strike 
a  town.  They  are  all  your  enemy  or  they 
don't  care.  This  seems  to  me  the  worst  on 
the  line.  Every  time  I  think  of  being  in  this 
town  sick  or  without  money,  I  just  nacherly 
have  a  cold  chill  that  makes  my  teeth  chatter 
like  a  woodchuck's." 

"  Are  n't  you  rather  hard  on  us  ?  "  asked 
Mary,  with  a  side  glance. 


A   RARE   FLOWER  OF  DECAY  155 

"  I  s'pose  I  am.  Mebbe  I  'm  wrong  about 
it,  too ;  but  that  's  my  feeling  about  it.  I  'm 
plumb  scared  of  cities.  I  'm  not  built  right 
to  feel  safe  alone  in  the  middle  of  all  these 
slick  folks — now  that  's  right." 

Mary  looked  up  at  him  with  a  smile. 
"  You  're  not  afraid  of  me  ?  " 

"Well,  not  to  hurt."  His  eyes  began  to 
twinkle  a  little. 

"Nor  of  Will?" 

"  No ;  but  he  's  an  Irishman,  and  besides 
he  's  a  hunter.  He  knows  how  it  is  himself." 

"  Nor  of  Dr.  Robertson  ?  " 

"  No ;  doc'  's  all  right.  But  there  it  is  —  he 
was  born  in  the  woods  of  Canada.  He  had 
the  right  kind  of  a  bringin'  up.  He  can  swing 
an  ax  and  fry  a  flapjack.  He  's  educated  in 
the  right  lines." 

She  laughed.  "  Then  it  seems  that  all  the 
people  really  worth  while  are  of  the  woods  or 
the  mountains  ?  " 

"  I  reckon  that  's  about  it.  That  's  my 
notion  to  a  dot.  You  see,  such  men  know 
how  much  a  cup  o'  hot  coffee  means  to  a  man 
just  off  the  trail.  These  others — well,  now 
J  '11  stop  right  there.  They  are  your  people, 
and  I  don't  want  to  hurt  your  feelin's.  Any- 


156  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

body  can  have  the  town  —  that  wants  it ;  the 
mountains  are  good  enough  for  me.  Which 
way  do  we  turn  now  ?  " 

"  To  the  left.     How  does  Admiral  go  ?  " 

"  Oh,  so-so — if  he  'd  only  rein  a  little  less 
like  a  mule." 

"  You  '11  like  the  '  Savage  Africa '  show ; 
there  are  some  good  riders  there.  I  fancy 
it 's  a  little  like  your  own  wild  West." 

"  When  do  we  go  ?  " 

"Very  soon."  Suddenly  turning,  she  cried: 
"  Oh,  I  Ve  an  idea !  Could  n't  you  show  us 
how  to  make  a  camp-fire,  and  all  that?  It 
would  be  jolly  good  fun." 

"  Sure  thing !  but  where  's  your  outfit  and 
your  timber  ?  I  have  n't  seen  a  place  as  big 
as  my  hat  that  was  n't  barbered  as  smooth  as 
the  back  of  your  hand.  You  can't  camp  in 
a  park  like  this.  You  Ve  got  to  have  timber 
and  water." 

"Oh,  I  know  a  place.  It  's  on  the  famous 
Black  Moor.  We  have  a  cottage  down  that 
way,  and  we  could  manage  it  perfectly.  Will 
you  go?"  She  was  fairly  breathless  with 
interest  in  the  idea. 

"  Certain  sure,  for  a  day  or  two.  I  Ve  got 
to  sell  my  mine." 


A  RARE  FLOWER  OF  DECAY  157 

"  Be  quite  easy  about  that.  I  '11  invite  Mr. 
Twombly,  and  we  '11  all  make  a  set  at  him. 
He  shall  be  sacrificed.  Now,  let  me  think —  " 
And  she  began  to  plan  the  outing. 

As  they  clattered  through  the  arched  gate 
into  the  little  courtyard,  Will  came  out  to 
meet  them. 

"  How  did  you  enjoy  your  ride  ?  "  he  asked 
of  the  miner. 

Jim  reached  out  a  long  arm  and  a  big, 
clutching  hand.  "  I  feel  full  size  to-day. 
Seems  like  I  could  take  a  fall  out  of  any  man 
livin',"  he  said. 

"  We  Ve  had  a  glorious  ride ! "  exclaimed 
Mary  ;  "  and  oh,  Will,  Jim  is  going  to  show  us 
how  he  camps  on  the  trail !  " 

As  he  climbed  to  his  hole  in  the  wall  that 
night  Jim  suddenly  realized  that  the  little  girl 
in  Aspen  Park  was  very  far  away  and  that 
another  woman  had  drawn  very  near.  Lon 
don  was  distinctly  less  lonely  and  menacing 
by  reason  of  Mary's  flower-like  face  and  burn 
ing,  vivid  eyes. 


VI 

JIM   MEETS  HIS  MAN  TWOMBLY 

IN  the  days  which  followed,  Mary  formed 
almost  daily  plans  for  the  mountaineer,  and 
Jim  yielded  himself  to  them  as  though  he  were 
indulging  a  child.  Will  was,  of  course,  her 
stalking-horse,  and  though  very  patient  of 
her  whims,  nearly  reached  the  point  of  rebel 
lion  one  day. 

"See  here,  sis,  where  is  this  to  end?"  he 
asked  as  they  sat  at  breakfast.  "  You  're 
seeing  a  great  deal  of  Jim." 

"No  matter;  I  am  amused,"  she  recklessly 
replied.  "I  have  n't  been  really  entertained, 
carried  out  of  myself,  since  —  you  know  when ; 
so  let  me  laugh  for  a  day  or  two." 

"  The  laugh  will  come  to  a  sob,  I  'm  think 
ing,"  he  sagely  answered. 

"That 's  the  Irish  of  it,  too,"  she  answered. 
"  Jim  's  all  right.  I  won't  hurt  him,  and  as 
for  me,  it  does  n't  much  matter.  He  's  doing 

158 


JIM   MEETS   HIS   MAN   TWOMBLY  159 

me  good.  I  am  getting  a  totally  new  con 
ception  of  life  from  him.  I  am  looking  at  the 
East  through  the  eyes  of  the  West,  and  I  find 
it  diverting." 

"I  don't  like  it,  Mary.  It  is  n't  quite 
honest  with  an  honest  man,"  Will  replied 
very  gently.  He  did  not  say  what  he  already 
knew,  that  people  were  beginning  to  discuss 
her  relation  to  Jim  as  the  "freak  attachment" 
of  a  lawless  woman.  It  was  in  the  hope  that 
he  might  persuade  her  to  a  different  course 
that  he  joined  heartily  in  her  plan  for  a  camp 
on  the  moor.  At  any  rate,  what  she  did 
there  would  be  less  conspicuous  than  in 
London. 

Dr.  Robertson  uttered  a  word  of  warning 
to  Jim  one  evening  after  they  had  all  been 
to  the  theater  together. 

"Jim,  I  must  put  you  on  your  guard  against 
Mary  Brien.  She  's  one  of  these  ambitious 
young  novelists  who  serve  up  their  own  emo 
tions,  as  well  as  those  of  their  friends,  for  the 
public's  gratification.  She  's  a  fine  woman 
in  many  ways,  and  we  are  all  fond  of  her, 
but  she  's  a  bit  theatric.  She  's  a  good  deal 
of  a  fraud  also.  You  should  take  her  tears 
and  smiles  at  a  liberal  discount.  She  likes  ta 


160  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

experiment  with  men.  Don't  let  her  use  you 
to  her  own  amusement" 

"  She  's  welcome  to  all  she  gets  out  o'  me," 
said  Jim,  coldly.  "  I  pipped  my  shell  as  many 
as  two  seasons  ago.  I  'm  not  afraid  of  a 
little  woman  like  Mary." 

"  Now  don't  underestimate  her,"  replied  the 
doctor,  earnestly.  "  She  is  by  no  means  the 
child  she  looks.  She  is  an  old,  old  woman 
in  some  ways — a  rare  blossom  of  degeneracy, 
I  fear ;  and  she  has  all  th'e  wiles  of  a  pretty 
woman  at  ready  command.  I  have  seen  her 
fool  several  good  men." 

"  I  '11  get  a  mouthful  while  she  's  getting  a 
full  meal,"  said  the  mountaineer,  grimly. 

Jim  was  now  on  excellent  terms  with  Mrs. 
Robertson,  whose  matronly  charm  he  freely 
acknowledged.  She  kept  at  Twombly  cour 
ageously  till  at  last  he  was  forced,  in  decency, 
to  set  aside  a  night  for  dinner.  Immediately 
word  was  sent  to  Jim,  who  turned  up  promptly, 
though  skeptical  of  results. 

Twombly  turned  out  to  be  a  familiar  type, 
the  kind  of  Englishman  one  often  meets  in 
the  mining  towns  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  — 
a  big,  blond,  handsome,  loose-jointed  man, 
who  shook  hands  awkwardly.  His  clothes 


JIM   MEETS   HIS   MAN   TWOMBLY  161 

did  not  fit,  but  his  eyes  were  clear  and  calm, 
and  his  smile  was  amiable.  He  said  "  indeed  " 
and  "  quite  so,"  and  remained  non-committal 
through  all  the  explanations.  His  judicial 
impassivity  was  a  little  irritating  to  Jim,  who 
was  not  yet  inured  to  the  English  stare. 

"  When  did  you  leave  Colorado  ?  "  Twombly 
asked. 

"  About  five  years  ago,  judgin'  by  my  own 
wear  and  tear ;  by  the  almanac  it 's  about  five 
weeks." 

Mary  fairly  pounced  upon  Twombly  in  her 
eagerness  to  help  Jim  sell  his  mine.  "  I  Ve 
agreed  to  take  some  stock,"  she  said,  "pro 
vided  you  go  on  and  report  favorably." 

"Indeed,"  said  Twombly,  ironically;  "then 
I  must  report  favorably,  willy-nilly." 

Nothing  that  Mary  could  say  enabled  him 
to  take  a  serious  view  of  the  situation ;  and 
Jim,  feeling  the  edge  of  Twombly's  skepticism, 
refused  to  say  a  word  more  than  this :  "  The 
mine  is  open  to  your  inspection ;  take  it  or 
leave  it.  That 's  all  I  've  got  to  say." 

However,  Twombly  showed  a  little  more 
interest  when  Mary  touched  on  Jim's  expe 
rience  as  an  actual  miner  and  mountaineer, 
and  asked  some  questions  which  might  have 


162  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

led  to  a  deeper  interest  had  Jim  answered 
with  his  usual  vividness ;  but  he  did  not.  He 
was  brief  to  curtness,  and  lounged  low  in  his 
chair,  with  a  dangerous  glitter  in  his  eyes. 
He  was  not  accustomed  to  having  men 
question  his  word,  or  express  doubt  even  in 
looks,  and  he  would  have  "broken  loose  "if 
Twombly  had  not  been  skilfully  drawn  off  by 
Will,  leaving  Mary  alone  with  him. 

Jim  then  said :  "  Your  man  Twombly  's  got 
my  quills  all  pointin'  the  wrong  way.  He  'd 
better  keep  on  the  other  side  o'  the  creek, 
-or  I  '11  reach  out  and  gather  a  handful  of  fur. 
I  'm  mean  to-day  — just  plumb  measly ;  and 
I  '11  take  a  fall  out  of  Twombly  for  exercise 
if  he  rubs  against  me  again." 

"  Don't  be  foolish,  Jim,"  she  hastened  to 
say.  "  Mr.  Twombly  comes  in,  as  you  would 
say,  like  a  wolf  into  a  trap,  and  he  naturally 
doubts.  Give  him  time  to  understand  you 
and  trust  you  as  we  do,  and  things  will  take 
a  turn.  Let  me  manage.  You  will,  won't 
you?" 

There  could  be  no  resisting  when  Mary 
pleaded.  Jim  did  not  say  a  word  to  indicate 
his  softening ;  but  Mary  knew  his  ways,  and 
when  he  smiled,  she  rose  and  sought  out 


JIM   MEETS   HIS   MAN   TWOMBLY  163. 

Twombly,  warning  him  to  be  less  openly 
ironical,  and  inviting  him  to  join  her  camping 
party  on  the  moor. 

Mrs.  Robertson  was  the  only  woman  in 
Mary's  party.  "  I  want  Jim  all  to  myself," 
she  said  calmly,  "and  you  make  a  tractable 
chaperon.  Jim  is  impressionable,  and  I  'm 
careful  not  to  introduce  him  to  young  and 
pretty  girls." 

"  Of  course  you  are  of  responsible  age, 
Mollie,  but  I  'm  apprehensive.  You  could  n't 
possibly  marry  this  mountaineer,  and  go  into 
his  wild  land." 

"Oh,  hush !  Don't  force  everything  to 
conclusions  that  way.  Will  is  croaking  the 
same  old  tune.  It  is  n't  a  question  of  mar 
riage.  Let  us  alone.  We  '11  settle  things 
ourselves.  He  amuses  me  —  nothing  more." 

"  I  consider  him  far  less  simple,"  Mrs.  Rob 
ertson  replied.  "  His  utterance  is  plain  and 
direct,  but  his  thinking  is  not  easy  for  me  to 
understand.  He  seems  to  me  sometimes  to 
be  laughing  at  us  all.  No  good  can  come  of 
your  intimacy.  I  sincerely  hope  you  won't 
invite  him  down  to  Wyndhurst." 

Mary  did  not  immediately  reply,  and  whea 
she  did  she  was  smiling. 


164  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"  Is  n't  his  comment  delicious  ?  I  take  him 
to  all  the  show-places,  the  historic  spots,  and 
he  says,  '  Aha,  I  want  to  know ! '  I  took  him 
to  Westminster  Abbey  the  other  day,  and 
after  we  had  walked  through  it  from  end  to 
end,  he  merely  said :  '  I  'd  hate  to  live  where 
land  is  so  scarce  you  have  to  bury  folks  in  the 
cellar.' " 

"  Did  he  show  any  appreciation  of  Shak- 
spere  or  Milton  ?  " 

"  Not  a  particle.  He  was  interested  in 
Cromwell  because  he  'downed  the  kings,'  and 
in  Darwin  because  he  '  knew  all  about  ani 
mals.'" 

"  I  never  could  tell  whether  he  was  fright 
fully  ignorant  or  only  making  believe.  He 
bluntly  told  me  he  did  n't  think  much  of  Eng 
lish  ways  or  English  books;" 

"Why  should  he?  He  is  n't  English. 
He  's  Norman  French.  We  take  it  for 
granted  that  all  Americans  are  Englishmen, 
but  they  are  not.  The  ordinary  American 
tourist  who  bows  down  before  our  idols,  and 
feels  his  blood  thrill  at  the  names  of  our  kings, 
is  only  an  Englishman  born  in  America.  But 
most  Americans  care  nothing  for  England. 
Jim  says  he  fairly  represents  a  good  many 
young  Americans  who  have  nothing  'ag'in"  us 


JIM   MEETS   HIS   MAN   TWOMBLY  165 

particularly,  but  they  don't  'hone'  after  us. 
That 's  why  I  like  Jim.  He  's  honest.  He 
is  n't  looking  for  a  social  success,  and  can  afford 
to  be  himself.  His  frank  contempt  for  our  time- 
honored  absurdities  is  delicious." 

"  He  does  n't  despise  our  money,"  retorted 
Mrs.  Robertson,  a  little  maliciously. 

"No  —  and  yet  he  is  n't  here  of  his  own 
accord.  As  he  says,  '  good  American  dollars ' 
are  rich  enough  for  him ;  but  he  's  over  here, 
and  naturally  wishes  to  be  successful  in  his 
trip." 

"I  like  him,  too,"  said  Grace;  "but  he  's 
a  little  too  assertive  of  his  peculiar  views 
sometimes." 

"  I  would  n't  have  him  different  for  worlds !  " 
exclaimed  Mary.  "  And  I  'm  getting  more 
deeply  interested  in  this  camping  trip  than  I 
ever  was  in  a  ball." 

Grace  looked  at  her  solemnly.  "  If  I  did 
not  know  you  so  well,  Mollie,  I  'd  think  you  a 
little  crazy." 

Mary  laughed.  "  Jim  thinks  I  am  the  only 
entirely  sensible  woman  in  London.  So  it 's 
'an  even  break,'  as  Jim  says." 

JIM  was  freshly  impressed  with  the  crowds 
over  on  the  Surrey  side,  where  they  went  the 


1 66  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

following  Friday  morning  to  take  the  train. 
"Too  many  people,"  he  said.  "I  Ve  got  to 
find  a  lonesome  spot,  or  go  crazy.  I  want  to 
ride  off  somewhere  where  nothing  moves  but 
once  in  a  while  a  chipmunk.  I  'm  sick  for 
the  lonesomeness  on  the  Kicking  Horse. 
These  crawling  maggots  are  getting  into  my 
brain.  See  'em  crowd ;  see  'em  hurry  !  "  he 
broke  out,  indicating  the  thousands  of  rush 
ing  travelers,  porters,  guards,  and  policemen. 
"  Like  a  herd  o'  sheep  around  a  water-hole.  I 
could  stand  it  for  a  few  hours  every  day ; 
but  to  be  where  I  Ve  got  to  see  'em  every 
hour  of  the  day  is  hell ;  it  sure  is.  I  'd 
sooner  lead  sheep  like  a  greaser  in  the  Toltec 
hills." 

When  they  were  seated  in  a  coach,  with 
bags  and  bundles  all  in  place,  Mary  turned 
and  gravely  said:  "I  like  your  profanity; 
it  's  so  satisfying.  Please  don't  mind  me. 
Indeed,  I  wish  you  'd  swear  a  few  good 
strong  words  on  my  account.  I  feel  just  as 
you  do  about  this  city  life,  only  my  voice 
won't  allow  me  to  curse.  It 's  comical  to  hear 
a  woman  swear,  her  voice  is  so  squeaky  and 
uncertain.  Once  when  I  was  very  angry  I 
said,  '  Hillty  divelty  dam ! '  and  I  thought  I 


JIM  MEETS   HIS   MAN   TWOMBLY  167 

was  very  wicked ;  but  Will  laughed  till  he 
cried."  She  sat  up  straight.  "  But,  Jim,  you 
must  n't  get  savage ;  you  must  n't  lose  your 
humor.  It  won't  do.  Don't  take  us  too 
seriously  over  here ;  it  would  spoil  you  en 
tirely.  I  like  you  best  when  you  laugh  at  us  ; 
I  like  your  cheerful  irreverence.  So  few 
Americans  that  I  meet  are  natural.  They 
bow  down  to  historical  dust  and  ashes  and 
tombstones.  You  're  the  one  out  of  ten  mil 
lion  to  value  us  as  we  deserve.  Walk  round 
us ;  then  sniff  and  ride  on  into  your  mountains 
and  forget  us." 

"  There  are  one  or  two  folks  I  reckon  I 
can't  shake  so  easy  as  that,"  he  replied,  with 
a  singular  side  glance  at  her. 

"  Quite  probably  they  are  the  very  ones  you 
should  soonest  forget,"  she  made  answer,  and 
there  was  no  humor  in  her  voice. 

They  rode  in  silence  for  a  few  minutes,  and 
Jim's  face  grew  very  grim  and  dark.  At  last 
he  said:  "I  had  a  letter  from  Chicago  this 
morning ;  my  old  pardner,  the  doc,  is  depend 
ing  on  me  to  sell  this  mine.  It  '11  just  about 
break  his  leg  if  I  don't.  That  's  one  bur 
that  's  tight  in  my  sock  to-day.  I  feel  just 
now  like  a  man  running  away  from  his  job.  I 


168  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

had  n't  ought  to  be  picnickin'  with  you;  I 
ought  to  be  rustlin'  tenderfeet  earls  for  the 
good  of  the  outfit." 

"  Trust  me,  Jim.  Twombly  is  coming  down 
on  Wednesday,  and  we  will  secure  his  deci 
sion.  All  you  want  is  for  him  to  return  with 
you  and  look  at  the  mine,  is  n't  it  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Well,  please  be  happy  again.  It  will  all 
come  out  right.  You  must  let  him  like  you, 
and  then  it  will  be  easier  to  '  rope  him  in.' " 

Jim  recovered  himself  as  the  train  drew  out 
into  the  beautiful  low-lying  country  toward  the 
south.  The  thick,  tall  grass  starred  with  but 
tercups  made  him  realize  that  it  was  spring. 
The  wind  was  as  cold  and  keen  as  a  sword, 
and  the  sun  was  pale  and  lifeless ;  but  the 
hedges  were  in  full  flower.  The  land  was 
June,  though  the  wind  was  sullen  March. 
Opulent  gardens  flashed  by,  radiant  with  pear- 
and  thorn-blossoms,  and  narrow  lanes  wound 
away,  flecked  with  the  pale-purple  shadows 
of  overhanging  willows. 

Suddenly  he  clutched  Mary's  arm.  "  Hold 
on !  Pull  up  !  There 's  a  piece  of  wild  pine- 
lands." 

Mary  laughed  at  his  excitement 


JIM   MEETS   HIS   MAN   TWOMBLY  169 

"  Oh,  we  have  barrens  down  in  my  country 
that  have  never  known  the  plow." 

Jim  looked  back  at  the  vanishing  village. 

"  What  town  was  that  ?  " 

"  That  was  Farmvale." 

"  When  I  go  back  I  'm  going  to  stop  off 
and  take  a  run  through  that  grove,  just  to  see 
something  that  has  n't  been  currycombed ; 
and  the  man  that  stops  me  will  sure  wish  he 
had  n't.  I  feel  like  a  wildcat  in  a  cellar; 
'pears  to  me  I  've  been  gone  six  months  from 
the  rocks  and  the  smell  of  the  pine-trees.  I  'd 
hate  to  live  in  a  place  where  people  had  lived 
and  died  for  a  thousand  years.  I  spent  a 
half  a  day  once  on  the  big  mesa  in  the  Santa 
Clara  valley,  digging  around  among  the  ruins. 
It  was  a  hot,  still  day,  and  I  laid  down  under 
some  little  old  pinon-trees  close  by  the  trail. 
And  all  of  a  sudden  I  thought  I  heard  voices 
—  a  whole  lot  of  'em.  Then  they  began  to 
sing,  and  a  woman  began  to  moan.  I  jumped 
up,  my  hair  bristling ;  but  there  wa'n't  a  thing 
in  sight.  I  'd  gone  into  a  doze,  and  the  wind 
moanin'  in  the  pinon-trees  made  me  dream. 
Then  I  shut  my  eyes  and  listened  again, 
and  I  could  hear  'em  whisper — them  dead 
women — and  moan.  I  climbed  down  that 


170  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

cliff,  pulled  in  my  pony,  and  rode  off.  I 
did  n't  want  any  more  of  that.  That 's  about 
the  way  I  feel  here.  Too  many  dead  people 
in  the  ground.  That 's  why  I  like  the  high 
country.  You  get  the  first  whack  at  the 
water  there.  Nobody  above  ye  to  poison 
it" 

Mary  looked  at  him  with  musing  eyes. 
"  You  're  a  strange  wild  creature.  You  don't 
belong  here." 

"The  way  I  put  it  up  is  this,"  replied 
Jim,  still  on  high  ground.  "  A  feller  belongs 
where  the  air  tastes  best  to  him.  Where  he 
can  throw  out  his  arms  and  say,  '  All  this  is 
mine,  I  'm  at  home.'  Now  I  could  n't  do  that 
with  a  city  —  any  city.  I  can  feel  myself 
weakening  every  day  I  'm  shut  up  here." 

"  Oh,  you  must  n't  stay  in  London.  But 
down  here  it  will  be  different.  You  '11  like 
the  moor.  The  country,  even  if  it  is  old,  is 
wholesome." 

"  I  'm  disappointed  in  your  farms,"  said  Jim, 
a  little  later.  "  Your  cattle  are  dogy.  Whole 
country  seems  asleep.  Nothin'  doing.  What 's 
the  matter?" 

"  You  're  getting  beyond  my  depth,"  re 
plied  Mary.  "Ask  Will." 


JIM  MEETS   HIS  MAN   TWOMBLY  171 

"  Let  'er  go.  I  can  live  without  the  in 
formation." 

"Tell  me  more  about  those  ancient  cities 
on  the  mesas.  Are  there  many  of  them  ?  " 

"  New  Mexico  is  pock-marked  with  'em. 
So  is  Arizona  in  spots.  Some  places  they  've 
had  irrigating-ditches  and  gardens.  It  must 
have  been  a  long  time  ago,  for  there  is  n't 
any  water  within  forty  miles  of  some  of  'em 
now.  I  camped  with  some  Smithsonian 
sharps  at  Canon  De  Shay  once,  and  from 
their  talk  I  judge  they  could  n't  agree.  One 
feller  argued  these  cities  were  built  a  thousand 
years  ago  by  another  Creed  o'  people  alto 
gether  ;  and  the  others  claimed  they  were  built 
by  the  Pueblo  Injuns  that  live  near.  I  sided 
in  with  the  lonesome  feller,  but  I  guess  the 
other  chaps  had  the  best  of  the  argument." 

"  It 's  a  strange  old  world  we  inhabit ;  don't 
you  think  so  ?  " 

"  It  sure  is  a  puzzle  to  an  old  quartz- 
cracker  like  me.  I  just  plumb  give  the  thing 
up." 

They  left  the  train  at  a  little  town  the  like 
of  which  the  mountaineer  had  never  seen.  A 
cluster  of  little  brick  houses,  old  and  vine- 
grown,  stood  close  to  narrow,  smooth,  hard 


172  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

streets.  Flowering  trees,  as  radiant  as  June 
clouds,  rose  above  gray  garden  walls.  On 
the  velvet  meadows,  which  reached  to  the  door- 
stones  of  the  churches,  sheep  were  feeding. 
A  few  birds  were  twittering,  and  a  cart  was 
moving  slowly  through  the  street ;  otherwise 
the  town  seemed  asleep  in  the  pale,  sad  sun 
light,  which  seemed  always  to  forecast  some 
bitter  storm. 

Mary  led  the  way  to  a  gay  road-wagon 
wherein  a  coachman  sat  angularly  erect,  with 
a  smile  that  would  not  be  restrained.  At 
Mary's  greeting  he  touched  his  hat,  but  did 
not  loose  his  hold  on  the  horses,  which  Jim 
studied  silently. 

"  Smooth  team  you  drive,"  he  said  to  the 
coachman.  "  How  do  you  keep  'em  so 
slick?" 

"What  do  you  really  think  of  them?" 
asked  Mary. 

"  They  look  all  right.  The  nigh  one  is  the 
best,"  he  answered,  taking  a  look  at  his  chest 
and  fore  limbs. 

Mary  put  Grace  and  Will  on  the  hinder 
seat  of  the  carriage,  and  without  trouble  or 
foresight,  Jim  found  himself  by  Mary's  side  in 
the  middle  seat. 


JIM  MEETS   HIS  MAN  TWOMBLY  173 

The  horses  got  away  with  vigor,  and  Jim 
silently  watched  the  play  of  their  hoofs  till 
they  swung  into  a  narrow  lane  leading  up 
a  hill,  then  gave  his  attention  to  the  land 
scape. 

"  How  far  are  we  from  London  ?  " 

"  About  forty  miles." 

"  Seems  a  thousand.  Peaceful  as  a  perta- 
ter-patch,  ain't  it  ?  I  don't  imagine  these 
chaps  make  a  living  out  o'  the  ground,"  he 
said,  indicating  a  group  of  fine  houses  on  the 
hillside. 

"  Oh,  no  ;  those  are  summer  cottages." 

"  Just  shacks,  eh  ?  Well,  for  God's  sake, 
what  would  they  call  a  house  ?  The  more  I 
see  of  you  people  over  here,  the  more  I  won 
der  where  your  living  all  comes  from.  You 
must  have  a  cinch  on  the  rest  of  the  world. 
You  don't  seem  to  earn  a  dollar." 

"That's  a  dangerous  truth,"  said  Mary; 
"  don't  say  it  out  loud." 

The  road  climbed  a  long  hill  by  following 
what  Jim  called  a  "  draw."  "  If  you  'd  only 
keep  going  for  a  couple  o'  days,  you  'd  get 
up  where  I  live,"  he  said,  and  his  face  bright 
ened  with  his  most  attractive  smile.  "This 
is  the  way  we  follow  the  course  of  the 


174  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

Grizzly  Bear.  Imagine  that  draw  a  canon, 
with  side  walls  ranging  from  one  to  three 
thousand  feet,  and  old  Ouray  and  Lizard 
Head  rising  up  here  on  the  right  seven  thou 
sand  feet  above  us  — " 

Mary  interrupted:  "  I  can't  imagine  it.  The 
demand  is  too  great.  I  must  see  them  to 
realize  it." 

He  took  her  arm  with  an  affectionate 
squeeze.  "I  '11  tell  you,  you  come  over  and 
let  me  show  you  how  it  goes." 

She  withdrew  her  arm.  "  I  'm  afraid  it 's 
too  far  away,"  she  said,  and  her  tone  was  a 
warning  to  him.  "  I  'd  never  get  back ;  and 
I  'd  miss  all  this  after  a  while  —  and  long  for 
London.  The  low  country  is  home  to  me, 
you  know." 

He  smiled  at  her  again,  and  in  such  wise 
that  she  could  not  understand  his  mind  toward 
her.  For  a  moment  she  felt  that  possibly 
Grace  was  right,  and  that  he  was  not  so 
simple  as  he  seemed. 

"  There  's  Wyndhurst,"  she  said,  pointing 
at  a  long,  low  house  ahead.  It  was  built  of 
brick,  and  was  sprinkled  with  all  sorts  of 
windows  on  the  southern  side. 

"Right  at  the  head  of  the  draw,"  remarked 


JIM  MEETS   HIS   MAN  TWOMBLY  175 

Jim.  "  That  ought  to  be  a  mighty  safe  spot 
to  hole  up  in  for  the  winter." 

"  It  is.  When  I  come  back  to  it  I  always 
wonder  why  I  leave  it  for  the  city." 

"  Now  you  're  shouting !  "  exclaimed  Jim. 
"  I  can  understand  bein'  homesick  for  a  tree 
or  a  garden  ;  but  it  beats  me  that  anybody 
can  hone  for  a  lot  o'  brick  walls,  like  London. 
There  are  some  trees  just  below  my  shack 
that  I  would  n't  lose  for  a  whole  hatful  of 
money.  They  stand  just  right,  not  too  thick, 
not  too  thin.  The  grass  under  'em  looks  like 
a  carpet.  The  tops  of  'em  from  above  look 
like  you  could  walk  on  'em.  I  know  what  a 
tree  is  worth,  for  I  held  down  a  claim  for  two 
years  that  was  above  timber-line.  I  'm  pretty 
near  'leven  hundred  now." 

"  I  can't  realize  that  either,  though  I  Ve 
been  in  the  Alps." 

Jim  turned  toward  her :  "  There  !  that 's  a 
range  o'  hills  I  'd  like  to  see.  I  'd  like  to  see 
whether  they  're  so  much  of  a  muchness  as 
folks  say.  I  have  a  notion  they  're  overesti 
mated,  like  the  Alleghanies.  You  take  prairie 
people  who  never  have  seen  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  the  little  wooded  foot-hills 
they  call  the  Alleghanies  are  world-beaters." 


176  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

"  Oh,  I  don't  think  you  'd  like  the  Alps ; 
they  're  all  'sandpapered,'  as  you  call  it,  in 
the  valleys,  and  pastured  far  up  the  sides. 
Then  they  are  only  a  group  of  peaks  — 
nothing  like  the  great  ranges  you  describe." 

Jim  set  about  being  generous.  "Well, 
now,  of  course  you  must  bear  in  mind  I  'm 
whooping  it  up  for  my  own  country.  I  '11 
admit  I  'm  prejudiced.  Mebbe  you  would  n't 
think  the  Rockies  much,  especially  if  you  just 
rode  through  on  a  Pullman  over  Marshall 
Pass.  I  've  seen  some  pictures  of  the  Alps 
that  made  'em  out  to  be  cracker-jacks —  clouds 
and  snow  and  ice.  Now,  in  August,  only  a 
part  of  even  old  Lizard  Head  is  covered  with 
snow,  but  in  winter  they  can  trump  anybody's 
best  card,  you  bet.  Ever  see  a  snow-slide  ?  " 

"  No ;  I  never  saw  anything —  that  is,  any 
thing  worth  while." 

"  Well,  the  Uncompahgre  range  is  streaked 
with  furrows  where  the  snow-slides  have 
ripped  away  the  trees.  You  see  a  terrible 
lot  of  snow  falls  in  this  range —  This  ain't 
the  house,  is  it  ?  "  he  asked,  as  they  n eared 
a  small  stone  cottage. 

"  Oh,  no;  this  is  the  porter's  lodge." 

"  The  —  how  much  ?  " 


JIM   MEETS   HIS   MAN   TWOMBLY  177 

"  The  place  where  my  gardener  lives." 

"Aha,  I  see.  I  thought  it  did  n't  quite 
size  up  with  the  other  view  I  had  of  it.  But 
then  you  never  can  tell.  Sometimes,  when 
the  light  is  just  right,  a  dog  on  the  trail  ahead 
of  you  will  look  as  big  as  a  burro.  In  a  bliz 
zard  I  Ve  took  a  shingle  to  be  the  roof  of  a 
house." 

They  entered  a  roadway  which  circled  the 
head  of  the  "draw,"  and  pulled  up  in  front  of 
the  house,  which  was  big  and  shapeless,  but 
sunny  with  windows  and  covered  with  vines 
and  surrounded  by  trees.  Tennis-courts, 
arbors,  and  hothouses  added  other  indu 
bitable  signs  of  luxurious  recreation.  Far 
below  glimmered  the  village  they  had  left, 
half  hidden  in  the  mist. 

Jim  leaped  to  the  ground  and  held  up  his 
arms  toward  Mary.  "  Now,  then,  jump!  "  he 
commanded. 

As  she  yielded  herself  to  his  arms  he  held 
her  suspended  in  the  air  for  an  instant,  smil 
ing  into  her  flushed  face.  "  You  see,  you  'd 
better  be  good,"  he  said,  as  he  set  her  on  her 
feet. 

Putting  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  he  looked 
around  him  searchingly.  Scattered  irregu- 


178  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

larly  on  the  dark-brown  hills  were  other 
houses  of  brick  or  stone,  some  of  them  very 
imposing.  Near  by  a  cluster  of  smaller,  older 
dwellings  stood  along  a  broad,  smooth  high 
way.  "  Looks  like  a  town,"  said  Jim. 

"It  is  the  historic  village  of  Wyndham," 
Mary  explained.  "That  used  to  be  the  post- 
road  to  East  Port.  We  '11  go  up  and  look 
at  the  old  inn  after  lunch.  Come  in  now, 
and  let  me  show  you  the  house.  You  can 
come  out  and  look  at  the  garden  afterward." 

Jim  thought  Ramsdell's  home  nice  and 
comfortable  ;  but  there  was  something  about 
this  house  which  subdued  him,  something 
which  he  could  not  understand,  something 
which  enriched  and  enlightened.  The  phrase 
"an  artistic  home,"  which  had  contained  only 
a  vague  notion  before,  became  suddenly  lumi 
nous  and  definite.  It  meant  Mary's  house  to 
him  thereafter,  with  its  music,  books,  warm 
colors,  and  sunlit  nooks. 

His  boots  thumped  loudly  on  the  polished 
stairway  as  he  followed  Mary's  light  and  child 
ish  form,  and  when  she  invited  him  to  enter 
an  open  door,  saying,  "  You  '11  camp  here," 
he  was  abashed. 

"  See  here,  little  pardner,  you  're  miscalcu- 


JIM   MEETS  HIS   MAN  TWOMBLY  179 

latin'  —  you  sure  am.  This  is  too  mighty 
fine  for  me.  Just  dig  up  a  blanket  some 
where  and  let  me  make  down  in  the  barn. 
This  is  made  for  some  pretty  girl,  and  not  for 
an  old  cow-puncher  like  me.  I  '11  break 
something  in  here." 

"  Nothing  is  too  fine  for  you,"  she  said, 
with  a  smile.  "You  take  what  I  offer  you, 
and  don't  complain.  I  won't  complain  when 
I  come  to  Colorado." 

"  All  right,  Mary  ;  what  you  say  goes  with 
me.  But  what  '11  I  set  down  on  ?  These 
chairs  ain't  made  for  my  style  of  beauty. 
Expect  me  to  read  all  these  books  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no ;  you  're  to  read  them  when  you 
want  to  go  to  sleep." 

"  Never  laid  awake  a  night  in  my  life,"  he 
replied.  "  See  here ;  this  won't  do.  Nobody 
ought  to  be  as  fine  as  this.  You  won't  want 
to  die  and  go  to  heaven." 

She  laughed  merrily.  "  Oh,  this  is  all 
good,  usable  material,"  she  said.  "  It 's  made 
for  use,  like  your  shack.  Don't  be  '  skeered ' 
of  it.  '  Make  down '  in  it.  You  see,  I  'm 
getting  your  phrases.  And  get  ready  for 
lunch.  I  'm  hungry,  and  I  know  you  are 
also." 


i8o  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

Jim  threw  off  his  coat.  "Well,  here  goes, 
pardner ;  I  11  be  with  you  in  a  couple  of  jif 
fies —  hungrier  'n  a  bear  in  March." 

Mary  fled,  laughing.  To  Grace  she  said 
breathlessly:  "Oh,  but  he  is  exciting,  deli 
cious  !  He  's  a  rough  old  bear,  but  he  has 
splendid  possibilities  of  passion." 

Mrs.  Robertson  was  very  grave  as  she 
looked  at  her  friend. 

"  My  dear  !  you —  be  —  very —  careful. 
You  're  too  inflammable  to  play  with  a  big, 
fierce  flame  like  that  man's  love." 

"  I  'm  not  afraid  of  Jim." 

"  But  yourself — " 

"  Well,  that,  I  admit,  is  a  different  matter ; 
but  then  I  am  having  a  heavenly  release  from 
being  bored  —  and  let  me  play";  and  she 
went  away  humming  a  merry  little  song,  glad 
to  think  she  had  this  mountaineer  all  to  her 
self  for  a  week. 

In  the  midst  of  this  genial,  friendly  com 
pany,  where  he  was  not  merely  considered 
but  honored,  Jim  returned  to  the  mood  which 
dominated  him  in  Ramsdell's  home.  He 
became  extremely  reticent,  and  this  sudden 
change  in  him  provoked  Mary's  insatiate 
curiosity  about  his  real  inner  self.  Thus  far 


JIM   MEETS   HIS   MAN   TWOMBLY  181 

she  was  completely  baffled  by  him :  the  life 
of  which  he  seemed  the  complete  embodiment 
was  so  far  removed  from  all  she  knew  that  at 
times  the  man  himself  seemed  mythical.  The 
guileless,  simple  mountaineer,  with  his  vivid 
and  powerful  phraseology,  became  each  day 
less  simple,  less  easily  fathomed.  Like  a 
mountain  lake,  he  concealed  unknown  deeps. 
He  was  developing  new  phases,  like  a 
strange  plant  whose  flowering  is  unknown. 
In  him  arose  an  elemental  sadness  which 
he  could  not  understand.  This  home  and  its 
life,  as  it  came  to  seem  more  and  more  worth 
while, —  to  be  even  defensible, —  made  him 
think  that  even  the  best  of  the  wild  days  in  the 
mountains  might  be  made  holier  by  the  intro 
duction  of  such  a  woman,  such  a  home.  Bessie, 
too,  grew  fainter  on  his  inner  eye,  becoming 
colorlessly  sweet  and  far  off  and  dim — a  girl 
ish  figure  whose  momentary  passing  had  left 
him  sadder  and  richer.  As  he  entered  his 
room  late  that  night  he  had  a  sudden  and 
powerful  upwelling  of  distrust  and  irritation 
with  himself.  What  business  had  he  to  be 
down  in  the  country,  coming  and  going  at  the 
call  of  a  girl,  when  he  had  a  work  to  do? 
Could  he  afford  to  waste  time  in  this  way  ? 


182  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

He  met  Mary  with  something  of  this  in  his 
face  next  morning,  and  she  asked:  "What 
is  your  trouble,  Jim?  You  don't  look  happy 
this  morning." 

"  I  'm  not.  I  can't  stay  here  much  longer. 
I  Ve  got  to  hustle  my  stock  together  and 
make  a  sale." 

"  I  see ;  you  feel  as  if  you  were  wasting 
time  here  with  me.  I  don't  agree  with  you. 
I  know  Twombly,  and  there  's  nothing  like 
lier  to  'rope  him  in,'  as  you  say,  than  this 
camping  party.  Trust  me  a  little  longer,  old 
pard."  She  smiled  with  sunny  candor.  "  I  '11 
bring  you  through.  I  'm  a  shrewd  advo 
cate  and  I  bring  good  luck." 

In  such  wise  she  held  him  to  her  own  plans. 
She  had  already  formed  a  little  syndicate 
pledged  to  take  stock  in  the  mine  provided 
Twombly  should  approve  of  it,  and  under  her 
influence  Jim  prepared  to  meet  Twombly 
with  a  full  statement  of  the  mine,  and  he  was 
expecting  some  fresh  samples  of  ore  from 
Ramsdell. 

The  days  which  followed  were  not  like  days 
in  a  dream,  because  Jim  could  not  have  ima 
gined  them  even  in  a  dream ;  it  seemed  that 
he  was  living  out  some  story-book,  some  im- 


JIM  MEETS   HIS   MAN   TWOMBLY  183 

possible  tale.  With  Mary  standing  near  to 
hand  him  saw  and  hammer  and  screw-driver, 
he  worked  out  a  couple  of  "  sawbuck  "  pack- 
saddles,  put  on  cinches  and  sling-ropes,  and 
sacked  up  provisions,  in  preparation  for  their 
camping  party. 

"  This  is  to  be  no  '  hippodrome,' "  he  said. 
"  We  hit  the  trail  right  here,  with  all  our  out 
fit  ;  and  when  we  camp  there  's  to  be  no  run 
ning  to  cover." 

"All  right,"  she  replied,  in  his  favorite 
phrase.  "  I  want  it  to  be  as  real  as  possible. 
I  want  to  know  just  how  it  seems  to  live  in  a 
tent  in  the  wilderness." 

"  All  I  ask  you  to  do  is  to  keep  the  game- 
wardens  off'n  me.  I  '11  do  the  rest,"  he 
replied.  He  had  not  been  so  happy  since 
leaving  Chicago.  He  was  living  in  pleasant 
memories  of  the  past,  and  the  charm  of  Mary's 
presence  wrought  upon  him  with  equal  power. 

She  was  bewitchingly  girlish  as  she  followed 
Jim  about,  with  fair  hair  blowing  round  her 
flushed  cheeks,  her  eyes  shining  with  excite 
ment.  She  rushed  on  errands,  she  ordered 
canvas,  ropes,  cooking-utensils,  with  the  en 
thusiasm  of  a  boy,  unmindful  of  how  her 
actions  might  be  interpreted ;  and  when  she 


1 84  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

grew  tired  and  said,  "  Come,  let  us  walk,'* 
or  "  Let  us  ride,"  he  dropped  his  tools  obedi 
ently. 

"  You  're  the  boss,"  he  often  said.  "If 
you  say  picnic,  I  'm  ready." 

"What  's  to  be  the  end  of  this?"  asked 
Mrs.  Robertson  of  Will,  one  day  as  they  stood 
observing  Mary  and  Jim  from  the  library  win 
dow. 

"  Heaven  knows ;  I  don't.  It  '11  end  all  at 
once,  like  the  fall  of  a  house  of  cards,  when 
it  does  end." 

Jim  was  seated  on  a  bench  beside  the  drive, 
busied  with  a  saddle,  and  Mary,  with  hands 
folded,  sat  watching  him  like  a  girl  whose  doll 
is  being  mended. 

"  I  hope  it  won't  hurt  him  too  deeply,"  said 
Mrs.  Robertson. 

"As  Jim  says,  I  reckon  he  won't  be  the 
only  one  hurt." 

"What  does  she  mean?  It  is  impossible 
for  her  to  marry  him." 

"  Nothing  is  impossible  with  Mollie,"  Will 
calmly  replied.  "  She  insists  that  Jim  under 
stands  her  perfectly,  and  that  he  knows  she 
cannot  think  of  marriage." 

"  She  should  not  encourage  him  on   any 


JIM   MEETS   HIS   MAN   TWOMBLY  185 

basis.  Her  freedom  with  him  is  amazing. 
Can't  you  stop  it  ?  " 

"  Stop  it !  You  know  Mary  ?  "  She  nodded 
soberly.  He  went  on :  "  Well,  when  you  ask 
me  to  step  in  between  Mollie  and  this  moun 
taineer,  I  must  beg  to  be  excused.  She  is 
two  years  my  senior  and  has  always  done 
with  me  as  she  well  pleased,  and  I  can't  begin 
to  govern  her  at  this  late  date.  Mother  used 
to  be  able  to  guide  her,  but  now  —  she  's  the 
head  of  the  house !  " 

In  the  intervals  of  his  labor,  Jim  galloped 
over  the  moors  with  Mary,  he  in  loose  blue 
shirt,  dark  trousers  belted  with  cartridge-belt, 
the  Australian  sombrero  on  his  head.  Every 
one  stared,  of  course,  but  Mary  merely  said : 
4 'Jim,  we  are  a  blessing  to  the  countryside. 
My  neighbors  will  have  their  knowledge  of 
men  vastly  extended  by  your  visit." 

Jim  was  interested  in  the  occasional  farms 
which  they  passed  on  the  lower  levels,  and 
often  stopped  to  have  a  word  with  the  men 
working  in  the  fields.  "  They  're  too  blame 
respectful,"  he  said  once.  "They  're  like 
niggers.  I  don't  like  to  see  a  white  man 
cringe ;  it 's  bad  enough  in  a  black.  I  s'pose 
they  think  they  're  using  the  English  language. 


186  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

Now  we  don't;  we  're  talkin'  United  States. 
Funny  thing  —  your  workmen  seem  like  for 
eigners,  but  your  rich  neighbors  here  act  a 
good  deal  like  Americans." 

"  In  what  way  ?  "  asked  Mary,  always  de 
lighted  to  get  Jim's  impressions. 

"Why,  you  just  meet  and  say  'Howdy/ 
man  to  man,  like  we  do;  but  all  the  rest  cringe, 
and  hold  out  a  paw  for  a  penny.  Seems  like 
only  you  rich  people  stand  for  anything." 

"  We  are  not  rich  people,"  protested  Mary ; 
"  we  're  only  the  well-to-do  classes.  Besides, 
we  're  Irish  —  don't  forget  that." 

"  Well,  if  you  're  only  well-to-do,  I  'd  like 
to  see  how  your  aristocrats  live." 

"  You  would  n't  like  their  ways ;  they  are 
quite  stupid —  a  good  many  of  them,  at  least. 
They  're  weighed  down  by  the  dignities  they 
think  have  been  solemnly  committed  to  their 
care.  They  are  by  no  means  cheerful  com 
pany.  However,  when  we  go  back  to  town 
I  '11  introduce  you  to  one  or  two  I  chance  to 
know." 

In  one  of  their  rides  they  selected  a  camp 
ing-place  deep  in  a  valley  in  the  moor,  and 
Will  made  arrangements  with  the  landlord 
for  the  privilege  of  setting  up  a  tent  there. 


JIM   MEETS   HIS   MAN   TWOMBLY  187 

It  was  a  wilder  surrounding  than  Jim  had  be 
lieved  it  possible  to  find  in  England.  On  all 
sides  but  one  the  hills  rose  ruggedly,  covered 
with  gorse, —  "  mesquite,"  Jim  called  it, —  a 
bleak,  singular  land  with  only  an  occasional 
donkey  or  lean  cow  feeding  therein.  A  small 
stream,  rising  from  several  dark,  slow  springs, 
flowed  silently  through  peat-bogs  to  the  north. 
Down  this  valley  several  farm-houses  could 
be  seen,  but  they  were  dull-colored  and  quite 
inconspicuous.  It  was  a  spot  sometimes  used 
by  gipsies,  and  the  knowledge  of  this  helped 
to  make  the  idea  of  camping  there  less  star 
tling  to  the  farmers.  To  reach  this  place  it 
was  necessary  to  descend  a  steep  hill  over  a 
maze  of  cow- paths  winding  about  among  the 
clumps  of  furze  and  gorse.  Altogether,  Jim 
found  it  most  gratifyingly  wild,  and  was  re 
minded  of  the  Texas  flats  when  riding  over  it. 


VII 

JIM  LEADS  A  PACK-TRAIN  OUT  UPON  THE 
MOOR 

A?  last  all  was  ready  for  the  start;  but 
Twombly  was  delayed,  and  did  not 
reach  Wyndhurst  till  Wednesday  noon.  He 
came  in  holiday  mood,  however,  and  promised 
to  be  a  little  more  manageable  than  before. 
He  manifested  genuine  interest  in  Jim's  tin- 
kered-up  pack-saddles,  and  joined  heartily  in 
the  proposed  trip,  which  he  called  a  "jolly 
original  sort  of  game,  y'  know." 

Dinner  that  night  was  taken  up  with  talk 
of  the  mountains  and  trailing.  Mary  skil 
fully  led  Jim  to  talk  of  his  mine,  and  how  he 
found  it,  and  what  he  did  with  it;  and  Twom 
bly  listened  with  growing  interest. 

At  nine  o'clock,  however,  Jim  abruptly 
said:  "Well,  folkses,  this  won't  do.  We  must 
turn  in  early  to-night  We  hit  the  trail  at 

sun-up  to-morrow." 

1 88 


JIM   LEADS  A   PACK-TRAIN  189 

Mrs.  Robertson  looked  alarmed.  "  Sun 
up  !  Do  you  mean  before  breakfast  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no ;  we  '11  catch  a  snack  before  we 
saddle ;  but  the  train  moves  at  sun-up,  sure 
thing." 

"But  why  so  early?"  she  queried  tim 
orously. 

"  Well,  if  you  want  to  tackle  the  real  busi 
ness  it 's  got  to  be  did.  I  'm  putting  this 
through  according  to  Hoyle." 

Mary  firmly  supported  him :  "  Certainly ; 
we  must  obey  our  guide  when  we  are  deep  in 
the  wilderness.  Think  how  interesting  it  will 
be  to  see  the  sun  come  up.  Grace,  when  did 
you  ever  see  the  sun  rise  ?  " 

Mrs.  Robertson  considered.  "  Eight  years 
ago,  when  my  father  was  so  ill." 

"  Eight  years  !  What  a  city  heathen  you 
are !  I  see  it  rise  often  —  at  least  once  every 
year,  when  I  first  come  down  here,  because 
the  cocks'  crowing  disturbs  me." 

"Where  are  we  to  go?  "  asked  Twombly. 

"  That 's  a  secret.  We  Ve  arranged  for  it, 
and  nobody  is  to  know  but  Jim.  We  set 
forth  as  if  into  unknown  seas." 

"That 's  right,"  said  Jim.  "This  trip  has 
nothing  fancy  about  it  Another  thing :  you 


IQO  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

leave  soft  drinks  and  plug-hats  behind.  It 's 
a  case  of  beans  and  bacon  —  and  slickers,  from 
now  till  the  first  of  October." 

"And  the  first  one  who  complains  is  to  be 
fined  one  pound,"  added  Mary. 

"  That  '11  be  you,  Mollie,"  said  Will. 

"  I  '11  bet  forty  to  one  she  don't,"  replied 
Jim.  "  She  's  the  kind  that  stays  right  by  till 
kingdom  come." 

Mary  turned  a  grateful  glance  upon  him. 
"Thank  you,  Jim.  You,  at  least,  appreciate 
me." 

"It  's  a  case  of  going  to  bed  with  the 
thrushes  if  you  get  up  with  the  blue  jays," 
Jim  further  remarked,  as  he  rose  to  his  feet. 
"  You  '11  hear  me  stirring  around  about  day 
light.  I  '11  be  out  helping  your  yaller-legged 
hired  men  rustle  the  broncos.  Good  night!" 
he  ended,  and  unceremoniously  went  to  bed. 

Mrs.  Robertson  gasped.  "Well,  this  cer 
tainly  is  the  most  extraordinary  situation  I 
can  conceive  of.  He  tosses  us  about  as  if  we 
were  dolls  in  his  game." 

"  It  will  make  a  fine  chapter  in  your  novel, 
Mollie,"  said  Will. 

Twombly  was  delighted  with  Jim's  manner. 
"  He  has  the  air  of  being  the  '  real  thing,'  as 


JIM   LEADS  A  PACK-TRAIN  191 

Robertson  says.  It  behooves  us  as  mighty 
hunters,  Brien,  to  be  up  at  dawn  to  help  him 
inspan,  as  they  say  in  Africa.  I  wonder 
what  the  fellow  really  is  —  is  he  playing  a 
game  with  us  all  ?  He  appears  uncommonly 
like  one  of  these  American  jokers." 

"  Stop  discussing  my  partner  and  go  to  bed, 
everybody ;  and  wear  your  plainest  cloth 
ing  to-morrow — no  golf-stockings  or  -coats. 
We  must  look  as  much  like  gipsies  as  possi 
ble.  Jim  will  be  very  critical  of  us  when  we 
appear  at  the  breakfast- table." 

"  I  wish  the  doctor  were  here,"  sighed  Mrs. 
Robertson. 

"  Oh,  we  '11  have  him  over  on  Sunday. 
You  would  n't  get  any  comfort  from  him; 
he  would  join  in  with  Jim.  You  '11  see  him 
at  camp." 

"If  we  hold  out  so  long,"  Will  slyly  inter 
posed  ;  and  the  party  broke  up  and  went  to 
bed,  though  reluctantly. 

MARY  was  sleeping  blissfully  deep  in  her  dainty 
bed  when  a  firm  knock  on  her  door  startled 
her  into  dazed  wakefulness. 

"  Five  o'clock,  little  pard.  I  'm  going  out 
to  wrangle  the  horses.  Set  out  the  grub- 


I92  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

pile,  and  have  the  coffee  steaming  hot.  We  '11 
get  a  move  on  ourselves  right  after." 

"All  right,  Jim,"  she  called.  His  cheery 
phrase  was  coming  to  be  ready  speech  to  her. 
As  she  heard  his  rapid  walk  through  the  hall 
and  out  into  the  yard,  something  elementally 
sweet  and  primitive  filled  her  mind.  Here 
was  the  fundamental  relation  of  men  and 
women — helpmates,  toilers:  the  man  strid 
ing  out  into  the  dawn  to  his  toil,  the  woman 
preparing  his  food.  At  that  moment  it 
seemed  not  merely  possible,  but  most  desira 
ble  and  beautiful,  that  she  should  go  forth 
with  him  into  the  New  World  as  his  helper,  his 
housewife.  It  would  be  a  sure  and  exquisite 
daily  pleasure  to  look  into  his  face,  to  listen 
to  his  coming.  He  was  handsome,  he  was 
sincere,  he  moved  her. 

She  laid  the  fingers  of  her  right  hand  on 
her  left  wrist,  and  smiled  to  find  her  pulse 
accelerating.  "  You  little  fool !  "  she  said, 
and  sprang  from  her  bed  to  knock  at  Mrs. 
Robertson's  door. 

Will  was  in  the  dining-room  window  with 
Jim,  looking  out  at  the  horses,  when  she 
entered.  The  trailer  greeted  her  gravely: 
"  How  are  ye,  pardner  ?  Up  for  all  day  ?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed ;  and  ready  for  any  trials." 


JIM   LEADS   A   PACK-TRAIN  193 

"  Time  we  top  the  range  you  '11  be  ready 
to  camp." 

Mrs.  Robertson  came  in  yawning  and  lan 
guid.  "  I  feel  very  strange,"  she  said  smile- 
lessly.  "  I  feel  as  if  somebody  were  sick  in 
the  house.  I  can't  eat  any  breakfast  at  this 
dreadful  hour.  I  don't  like  the  overture  to 
your  play,  Mollie." 

"  Oh,  this  is  the  best  part  of  it.  I  am  now 
quite  able  to  realize  the  start  of  a  train  up  the 
Grizzly  Bear  trail." 

"  All  hands  down  for  grub,"  called  Jim,  as 
the  servant  brought  in  the  last  big  covered 
dish.  "  Eat  whether  you  like  it  or  not. 
We  're  due  for  a  long  drive ;  got  to  cross  the 
snowy  divide  before  we  camp." 

"  By  Jove !  this  is  extraordinarily  worth 
while,  you  know,"  said  Twombly,  as  he  burst 
into  the  dining-room,  rubbing  his  hands  to 
gether  briskly.  He  was  in  gray  bicycle-suit, 
with  high,  light-colored  boots,  such  as  Rocky 
Mountain  miners  wear. 

The  others  eyed  him  with  pitying  amuse 
ment  as  he  awkwardly  shuffled  about  the  side 
board  for  a  dram  of  whisky. 

"Will  I  do,  think?"  he  asked,  as  he  put 
down  his  glass. 

"  Yes ;   I  reckon  you  '11  do,"  Mary  cheerily 


I94  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

replied.  "  You  look  like  a  caricature  of  Jim; 
but  it 's  the  best  we  could  expect  of  a  thor 
oughgoing  Devonshire  man." 

Twombly  laughed  uneasily,  feeling  himself 
at  a  disadvantage.  "Ha,  ha !  Well,  you 
know  it  was  great  luck,  my  having  these 
hunting-boots.  They  really  are  Canadian 
manufacture.  I  bought  them  to  wear  in  Scot 
land  last  autumn.  They  are  really  very  com 
fortable,  you  know,  in  case  of  wet  weather." 

"  Sit  in  and  eat,"  commanded  Jim.  "  We  're 
falling  behind  our  schedule." 

Twombly  meekly  obeyed.  Grace  was  still 
yawning  and  uneasy.  "  How  queer  it  all 
seems !  I  feel  like  a  housemaid,  getting  up 
at  this  time  of  the  morning.  What  can  we 
do  to  fill  in  the  day  ?  " 

"You  '11  be  kept  busy,"  said  Jim.  "I'll 
attend  to  t^at  part." 

M  ary  was  exceedingly  alert.  She  sat  at  J  im's 
left  hand,  and  played  the  part  of  submissive 
child  to  perfection.  She  referred  everything 
to  "  guide,"  as  she  now  called  the  trailer.  The 
trampling  of  the  horses  outside  continued, 
and  their  restless  movement  hastened  the  meal. 

As  he  finished  his  coffee,  Jim  pushed  back 
resolutely.  "Is  everybody  fed ? " 


JIM   LEADS  A  PACK-TRAIN  195 

"  Quite  so,"  replied  Twombly. 

"We  are,"  said  Will. 

"Aye,  aye  !  "  cried  Mary. 

"Then  we  hit  leather.  Let  every  man 
rope  his  pony  and  drag  up  his  cinches  while 
I  throw  on  the  packs." 

"  It 's  exactly  like  a  story,"  said  Mrs.  Rob 
ertson,  beginning  to  feel  the  influence  of  the 
hot  coffee. 

"  I  wish  it  were  the  real  thing  instead," 
exclaimed  Mary,  as  she  rose  to  follow.  She 
wore  a  plain  riding-skirt  and  cap,  as  did 
Mrs.  Robertson,  while  Will,  dressed  like  an 
Australian  rough  rider,  looked  very  well 
indeed. 

When  they  came  out  into  the  yard  they 
found  seven  horses  in  the  hands  of  several 
perturbed  grooms.  Each  horse  had  a  "hack- 
amore"  of  new  rope,  two  carried  pack-sad 
dles  with  sling-ropes  neatly  coiled  on  the 
horns,  and  three  were  already  saddled.  They 
filled  the  brick-laid  court  with  an  uneasy 
trampling,  which  excited  Mary  almost  to  the 
point  of  shouting.  The  sun  was  not  yet 
above  the  dark  ridge  to  the  east. 

"  Girls,  grab  your  cayuses ! "  said  Jim. 
"  Twombly,  you  help  'em  jump  their  saddles. 


196  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

Will,  you  're  my  assistant  packer ;  give  me  a 
hand  here  with  these  wild-eyed  broncs." 

While  Twombly  was  helping  the  women  to 
their  saddles,  Jim  led  one  of  the  sober  cart 
horses  forward  to  a  pile  of  sacks  and  bales 
of  "  camp  stuff,"  and  said,  "  Hold  him  a 
minute." 

"  Oh,  let  me  watch ! "  cried  Mary,  riding 
near.  "  I  want  to  see  how  you  do  that  work." 

Jim  let  down  the  rope  in  a  loop,  threw  the 
loose  end  over  a  horn,  gave  a  quick  knot  to 
it,  and  behold  a  little  sling  into  which  he 
dropped  a  sack.  On  the  other  side  he  placed 
a  similar  pack,  and  then,  with  Will's  help, 
swung  a  big  bale  of  bedding  to  the  center. 
He  next  threw  the  end  of  a  long  rope  with  a 
wooden  hook  under  the  horse's  belly. 

"  Hang  to  that ! "  he  commanded.  He 
flung  a  doubled  end  across.  "  Hook  that !  " 
Will  did  as  bid.  "  Now  cinch  her  up  a  little. 
No,  no !  run  the  rope  the  other  way.  That 's 
right ! "  He  came  round  a  moment  later, 
carrying  a  larger  loop,  which  went  over  the 
corners  of  the  pack ;  and  as  he  went,  the  rope 
tightened,  and  at  last,  standing  at  the  horse's 
shoulder,  he  set  his  foot  against  the  pack  and 
pulled,  and  every  loop  tightened. 


JIM   LEADS   A   PACK-TRAIN  197 

"  I  see,  I  see ! "  cried  Mary.  "  Is  n't  it 
wonderful ! " 

"  That  's  the  diamond  hitch,"  said  Jim,  as 
he  "pinched"  the  front  lashings  with  a  final 
knot  of  the  rope's  end. 

"  By  Jove !  that 's  ingenious.  So  that  is 
the  hitch,  is  it?  I  never  saw  it  done  before," 
said  Twombly,  in  high  admiration.  "It  is 
jolly  clever.  I  Ve  read  about  it  in  American 
novels." 

His  wonder  increased  as  Jim  slung  upon 
the  other  horse  bales,  tinware,  boxes,  and 
camp-stools,  throwing  over  them  all  a  folded 
tent 

"  It 's  juggling  with  feathers  and  cannon- 
balls,  is  n't  it  ?  "  said  Will  to  Jim. 

"We  pack  anything  from  a  sack  of  flour  to 
a  steam-boiler,"  he  replied.  "It  's  a  little 
science  all  by  itself.  Now  I  '11  show  you 
another  trick.  I  '11  pack  my  saddle-horse," 
he  said,  as  he  drew  the  knot  on  the  second 
horse.  In  a  few  minutes,  by  an  ingenious 
arrangement  of  ropes,  he  placed  upon  the 
American  saddle  (which  Mary  had  bought  for 
him)  a  load  about  as  varied  as  those  upon 
the  other  horses.  "  Now,  then,  are  you  all 
set  ?  "  he  asked.  "  Then  fall  in.  I  will  lead 


198  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

with  two  pack-horses ;  Mary,  you  come  next, 
and  Mrs.  Robertson  third.  Twombly,  you 
are  to  lead  the  third  pack-horse,  and  Will 
brings  up  the  rear.  Hy-ak  /  " 

And  so,  with  all  the  servants  staring  in  a 
stupor  of  wonder,  Jim  led  the  way  through 
the  garden  gate  out  upon  the  moor,  which 
looked  wild  and  bleak  in  the  morning  light. 
The  lazy  old  cart-horses  that  bore  the  packs 
lifted  their  heads  and  sidled  along  under  their 
singular  burdens,  as  awkward  as  camels,  while 
the  saddle-horses  pranced  with  excitement, 
and  Mrs.  Robertson  clung  to  her  saddle  in 
dismay. 

"  Keep  in  line  !  Keep  the  trail !  "  called 
Jim ;  and  as  he  looked  back  at  the  little  train 
winding  along  the  path,  his  heart  swelled  big 
with  the  memories  the  scene  called  up.  Put 
ting  away  the  houses  and  the  hedges,  the  moor 
was  not  unlike  some  of  the  sage-bush-covered 
hills  of  the  dry  country,  and  the  party  not 
widely  different  from  the  ethnological  explor 
ers  he  had  once  led  into  the  hills  west  of  San 
Ildefonso.  He  was  bitterly  homesick  for  the 
moment,  and  the  play  became  a  burden. 

But  Mary's  delight  in  it  all  cleared  his  eyes 
of  reminiscent  shadow,  and  in  much  better 


JIM    LEADS   A   PACK-TRAIN  199 

form  than  he  had  expected  they  made  slow 
and  devious  way  over  the  big  ridge,  and 
halted  on  the  side  of  the  steep  slope  toward 
the  camping-place.  He  had  led  them  by 
the  most  circuitous  path  in  order  to  prolong  the 
journey,  stopping  occasionally  to  tighten  a 
cinch  or  to  explain  some  manceuver  of  the 
march. 

"  You  see  yon  clump  of  willows  ?  "  he  said, 
pointing  away  with  a  gesture  which  symbo 
lized  miles  of  travel.  "We  must  make  that 
before  we  loosen  cinches.  Keep  a  tight  rein, 
and  don't  ride  the  pommel  of  your  saddle. 
Set  your  weight  into  the  stirrups.  In  the 
steep  places  you  girls  had  better  ride  man- 
fashion.  Be  careful  the  ponies  don't  scrouge 
against  the  trees.  All  ready  ?  Hy-ak —  boys! 
Hike ! " 

The  sun  was  shining,  the  larks  twittering 
innumerably,  and  the  party  most  thoroughly 
awake  and  merry  of  voice.  As  they  went 
zigzagging  down  the  slope,  even  Grace  got  a 
thrill  of  the  excitement  which  kept  Mary  chat 
tering  with  joyous  vehemence. 

"  Was  anything  ever  so  absurd  ?  "  she  asked. 

"This  is  n't  far  from  the  real  thing,"  said 
Will.  "  My  own  experience  in  the  bush  tells 


200  IJER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

me  that  Jim  is  giving  us  a  first-class  imitation 
of  wild  things." 

"  By  Jove  !  who  would  have  supposed  we 
could  have  been  got  to  set  out  on  a  delight 
fully  idiotic  expedition  like  this  ?  This  man's 
seriousness  is  convincing,"  Twombly  took 
early  opportunity  to  say,  and  it  was  evident 
that  Jim's  stock  was  rising  in  value.  His  skill 
with  rope  and  saddle  made  a  strong  appeal. 

Thus  far  few  people  were  abroad  to  be 
amazed  at  Jim's  pack-train;  two  or  three  farm 
ers  and  a  couple  of  early  bicyclers  only  had 
stopped  to  stare ;  and  for  this  comparative 
freedom  from  observation  Mrs.  Robertson 
was  particularly  grateful.  She  alone  of  all 
the  group  suffered  from  the  thought  of  how 
this  performance  would  seem  to  the  outsider 
or  to  her  city  friends. 

"  Halt ! "  commanded  Jim.  "  Girls  will  keep 
their  saddles  a  second  or  two.  Twombly, 
bring  up  your  pack-pony." 

In  a  short  time  the  packs  were  on  the 
ground,  the  ropes  neatly  coiled,  and  the 
horses  picketed  to  the  trees.  "We  '11  let  'em 
stand  for  a  while,  then  we  '11  run  'em  back 
over  the  hill  to  feed.  Twombly,  you  rustle 
some  water  while  I  get  a  fire  going." 


JIM   LEADS   A   PACK-TRAIN  201 

Under  his  swift  command  the  tents  were  set, 
the  packs  set  in  place,  and  a  fire  crackling. 
No  detail  was  omitted.  The  lesson  was  to  be 
as  complete  as  possible  in  the  circumstances. 

Suddenly  it  broke  upon  Mrs.  Robertson 
that  they  were  out  in  the  open  air  at  the 
mercy  of  the  earth  and  sky.  "  Would  n't  it 
be  dreadful  if  it  should  rain  ?  "  she  asked,  with 
a  shudder. 

"  By  Jove !  it  would  be  nasty,  that ! "  said 
Twombly,  looking  up  at  the  sky.  "  I  don't 
think  it  will." 

Mary  looked  at  Will  and  laughed.  "  It  al 
ways  rains  when  one  is  living  in  a  tent.  It 's 
so  nice  to  hear  the  rain  pattering  over  one's 
head  as  one  goes  to  sleep." 

Mrs.  Robertson  echoed  this  word.  "  Sleep! 
You  surely  are  not  in  earnest  about  staying 
here  overnight ! " 

"We  can't  help  ourselves.  Our  guide  is 
inexorable,  and  we  could  n't  find  our  way 
back  without  him." 

A  little  later,  when  alone  with  Mary  in  the 
tent,  Mrs.  Robertson  said :  "  Mollie,  it  is  quite 
impossible  for  us  to  stay  here  overnight. 
Why," —  here  she  lowered  her  voice, —  "  we 
can't  dress  or  undress  —  or  anything !  " 


202  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

"  Did  you  think  people  carried  bath-rooms 
and  brass  bedsteads  on  the  trail  ? "  asked 
Mary. 

Mrs.  Robertson  did  not  perceive  the  humor 
of  this.  "  I  never  thought  much  about  it.  It 
was  all  very  obscure,  and  belonged  to  the 
world  of  men." 

"That  's  just  why  I  'm  so  pleased.  I  'm 
getting  an  insight  into  the  man's  world.  How 
can  I  widen  my  thinking  ? —  that  is  what  inter 
ests  me  now.  Jim  is  opening  up  new  terri 
tory  to  me.  I  am  tired  of  gardens ;  I  want 
mountain -peaks  and  grizzly  bears.  I  'm  hav 
ing  sensations  every  moment  or  two,  and  I  'm 
deeply  grateful  to  Jim." 

She  lolled  on  a  pile  of  blankets,  looking  up 
at  the  tent-roof. 

"  Is  n't  it  gloriously  savage  to  be  living  in 
a  tent!  How  frail  it  seems!  and  yet  Jim 
says  he  has  camped  in  deep  winter  snow  with 
only  a  little  tent  like  this  to  shelter  him. 
How  little  we  know  of  life,  after  all  —  we 
women." 

"  Girls,  are  you  getting  hungry  ?  "  inquired 
Will.  "  If  you  are,  come  out  and  see  Jim 
cook  his  beans." 

Mary  left  off  her  rhapsody,   and  they  all 


JIM   LEADS  A  PACK-TRAIN  203 

went  out  to  look  at  Jim.  Over  a  red  little 
fire,  built  in  a  trench,  he  had  swung  a  kettle 
on  a  long  pole,  one  end  of  which  was  thrust  into 
the  sod,  while  the  other  rested  in  a  low 
crotch.  Near  the  small  end  a  forking  branch 
caught  and  held  the  kettle's  bail.  Jim  was 
intently  examining  his  stores  and  utensils 
while  his  pot  boiled. 

As  the  women  drew  near  he  shook  a  slab 
of  bacon  in  the  air,  and  tossed  it  back  into  the 
heap.  "  That  will  save  our  lives  yet  —  there 's 
nothing  so  good  on  the  trail." 

Mrs.  Robertson  shuddered.  "  Good  hea 
vens  !  Does  he  think  we  '11  eat  bacon  after 
seeing  it  handled  thus  ?  " 

"  I  am  prepared  to  eat  anything  that  Jim 
gives  me,"  said  Mary.  "He  is  my  guide, 
consoler,  and  friend." 

"You  're  putting  yourself  quite  into  his 
hands,"  insisted  Mrs.  Robertson. 

"  I  might  fall  into  worse." 

"  You  ridiculous  creature ! " 

"  Not  at  all.  It  is  never  ridiculous  to 
acquire  wisdom.  It  's  worth  being  hurt  just 
to  achieve  a  new  conception  of  life.  Jim's 
attitude  is  new  to  me.  It  is  worth  while,  and 
I  am  hoping  to  acquire  it ;  that  is  all." 


a04  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

Twombly  got  out  his  rod  and  prepared  to 
go  fishing.  "  Did  you  arrange  with  the 
manor  about  that  ?  "  he  asked  of  Mary. 

"  Certainly.  Don't  fail  to  bring  us  some 
trout  to  go  with  Jim's  bacon.  If  you  don't, 
Grace  will  starve." 

"  Depend  on  me,"  he  stoutly  replied.  "  I 
am  a  redoubtable  fisherman  —  at  least,  in 
theory." 

Will  was  commissioned  to  take  the  horses 
down  to  the  near-by  farm  in  relays  and  get 
them  stabled.  Mrs.  Robertson  retired  to  her 
tent  in  order  to  catch  up  on  her  sleep,  and 
Mary  was  left  to  follow  Jim  around  like  a 
child  as  he  put  the  camp  to  rights.  He  was 
intent,  handy,  and  silent,  and  came  as  near 
ignoring  Mary  as  any  one  ever  did ;  for  the 
business  of  pitching  the  camp  brought  back 
the  good  days  on  the  trail,  and  made  him 
think  of  Ramsdell,  and  of  Bessie  also.  The 
Ramsdells  became  very  sweet  and  reposeful, 
and  more  and  more  worth  while  by  contrast 
with  the  worrisome  peculiarities  of  Twombly 
and  Mrs.  Robertson. 

"How  long  does  it  take  the  beans  to  cook  ?  " 
Mary  broke  silence  to  inquire. 

"  A  couple  o'  days.     On  the  trail  we  soak 


JIM   LEADS   A  PACK-TRAIN  205 

'em  one  night  and  boil  'em  two  —  about  six 
hours  in  all,  I  reckon." 

"What  are  you  doing  now?" 

"  I  'm  going  to  make  some  'sinkers,' " 

"Sinkers?" 

"  Yes ;  kettle-bread  —  dough-balls." 

Mary  laughed.  "  Is  that  your  nice  name 
for  them?  I  Ve  been  wondering  what  you 
do  for  bread.  Of  course  you  could  n't  carry 
enough  with  you.  Do  you  carry  biscuit?" 

"  Well,  no ;  it's  all  you  can  do  to  carry  raw 
material." 

He  put  some  flour  in  a  big  pan,  and  after 
adding  some  baking-powder,  began  stirring 
it  with  a  stick.  Later  he  poured  in  some 
water,  and  the  loaf  began  to  form.  At  last 
he  threw  away  the  stick,  and  putting  a  big 
fist  into  the  dish,  began  to  knead  the  gluey 
mass. 

"  I  think  I  ought  to  call  Grace,"  said  Mary ,- 
"she  'd  like  to  see  you  make  bread." 

"  I  reckon  she  '11  eat  better  if  she  don't,"  he 
replied  gravely.  "  I  had  a  feller  once  with 
me  on  a  trip  that  fussed  about  his  grub  the 
first  day  or  two ;  but  he  come  to  it  about  the 
fourth  day  out  —  was  glad  to  eat  anything." 

When  the  flour  was  all  taken  up,  Jim  patted 


206  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

the  loaf  into  shape,  and  seizing  a  shovel,  dug 
a  slanting  wall  toward  the  fire,  against  which 
he  set  the  skillet  containing  the  dough.  "  Now 
watch  and  you  '11  see  her  puff  up,"  he  said, 
and  together  they  kept  watch  upon  it. 

As  the  loaf  began  to  swell  and  to  darken 
under  the  blaze,  Jim  seized  the  handle  of  the 
skillet,  and  by  a  skilful  jerk  of  his  wrist  made 
the  dough  whirl  in  the  pan  until  the  browned 
side  was  uppermost.  When  the  whole  of  one 
side  was  toasted,  he  tossed  the  loaf  in  air  and 
caught  it,  unbaked  side  up,  whereat  Mary 
clapped  her  hands  in  acknowledgment  of  his 
skill. 

"  Beautiful !     May  I  try  it  ?  " 

"  I  guess  not.  It 's  too  heavy  for  your  little 
hands." 

He  soon  had  bread  enough,  and  set  about 
the  dinner.  "  Dinner  comes  at  twelve  on  the 
trail,"  he  said,  "and  I  reckon  you  '11  all  be 
ready  for  it." 

"  I  'm  ready  now,"  she  replied ;  "  I  am  eager 
to  try  your  cooking." 

He  sliced  the  bacon,  set  the  potatoes  to 
boil,  and  stewed  some  dried  apricots.  "  This 
is  a  real  trail  dinner,"  he  explained. 

Long  before  the   potatoes  were  ready  to 


JIM   LEADS   A   PACK-TRAIN  207 

serve,  all  his  party  were  standing  about,  ob 
serving  him  wistfully;  and  when  at  last  the 
coffee-pot  began  to  boil  and  Twombly's  trout 
had  browned  with  the  bacon  in  the  pan,  even 
Mrs.  Robertson  admitted  that  the  meal  prom 
ised  well. 

"Trouble  is,  you  did  n't  ride  far  enough," 
protested  Jim.  "If  you  'd  been  over  about 
twenty  miles  of  mountain  trail  you  'd  ask  no 
questions." 

They  really  ate  as  if  hungry.  Twombly 
and  Will  consumed  two  servings  of  the  bacon 
and  trout,  and  Mrs.  Robertson  said,  "  It  tastes 
better  than  I  feared."  They  drank  their  cof 
fee  without  milk,  and  the  bread  was  a  "  diffi 
cult  proposition  " ;  but,  on  the  whole,  dinner 
was  finished  in  the  best  of  spirits. 

"We  are  real  trailers  now,"  said  Mary,  as 
she  rolled  up  her  sleeves  to  help  Jim  with  the 
dishes,  while  Twombly  and  Will  smoked  pipes 
and  fed  the  fire  to  keep  the  beans  boiling. 
Mary  was  very  alluring  to  Jim  at  this  moment 
—  more  potent  than  at  any  other  time ;  for 
she  seemed  realizable,  seemed  in  the  circle  of 
his  arm,  and  a  willing  prisoner. 

She  maintained  her  interest  in  the  camp, 
and  chattered  on  about  their  plans.  "  I  wish 


208  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

that  farm-house  were  not  so  close ;  and  we  11 
have  visitors  this  afternoon,  too.  I  'm  sorry, 
for  I  wanted  to  have  you  all  to  myself.  Sup 
pose  we  go  riding  ?  There  's  another  valley 
I  'd  like  you  to  see.  Will  you  ?  " 

"After  the  beans  are  done,"  he  replied  in  a 
matter-of-fact  way.  "  Can't  afford  to  let  'em 
boil  dry." 

Mrs.  Robertson  asked  Twombly  to  go  with 
her  to  the  farm-house  to  purchase  some  cream. 
"We  can't  drink  coffee  without  cream,"  she 
said  privately  to  Mary.  "  But  don't  let  our 
guide  know;  he  would  regard  it  as  a  weakness." 

"  Don't  engage  board  down  there,"  replied 
Mary,  laughing.  "  I  know  you  're  on  the 
verge  of  deserting  camp." 

As  she  came  back  to  Jim  she  said,  "  You  Ve 
no  idea  what  a  sociologic  upheaval  it  is,  our 
getting  permission  to  camp  here  and  burn 
these  twigs.  The  things  which  seem  natural 
and  easy  to  you  in  Colorado  are  destructive 
here." 

"  I  know  it ;  that 's  why  I  can't  stand  Eng 
land.  I  'm  like  a  bronco  in  a  buggy ;  I  want 
to  bust  a  thill  every  time  I  feel  the  rein.  I 
suppose  I  'd  get  used  to  it  in  time,  but  it 
would  be  a  lifetime." 


JIM   LEADS  A  PACK-TRAIN  209 

Working  together  side  by  side  with  bared 
arms,  the  two  fell  into  alluring  intimacy. 
.Mary  was  a-quiver  with  the  novelty  of  the 
situation  and  the  magnetism  of  the  trailer's 
reticent  and  suggestive  presence.  There  was 
a  note  of  melancholy  in  his  voice  as  he  said : 

"  This  makes  me  hone  for  the  West.  I  Ve 
no  more  business  being  over  here  than  a, 
Piute.  I  might  'a'  known  I  'd  make  a  failure 
of  it.  I  did  know  it,  and  I  told  the  doc  so ; 
but  he  was  so  plumb  certain  I  could  do  the: 
thing,  he  fooled  me  into  it.  Every  time  I 
look  at  that  camp-fire  and  see  them  beans 
a-bubblin',  I  'm  crazy  to  take  the  back  trail ; 
now  that 's  the  honest  fact." 

"  Is  n't  that  rather  ungracious  to  me  ?  "  she 
asked  archly. 

"  If  I  could  take  you  along  that  would,  settle 
it ;  I  'd  go  to-morrow,"  he  replied,  rising  to  his 
full  height  and  looking  down  at  her  with  a 
keen  glance. 

"Thank  you,  sir;  you  are  improving,"  she 
said,  with  a  courtesy.  Then,  with  a  sudden 
turn  to  fury,  she  said:  "No,  you  're  not; 
you  're  losing  a  little  of  your  good,  blunt  self. 
I  'm  sorry  you  said  that.  You  must  n't  talk 
to  me  like  other  men ;  if  you  do,  I  won't  like 


2io  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

you  any  more.  I  want  you  to  be  yourself ; 
you  must  n't  do  as  other  men  do." 

Jim  looked  at  her  with  eyes  which  scared 
her  a  little.  When  he  spoke  his  voice  was 
low  and  firm.  "  See  here,  little  woman, 
you  're  just  a  little  too  swift  for  me.  When  I 
think  I  've  got  my  hand  on  you,  you  go  up  a 
bank  or  drop  into  an  arrojo,  and  I  don't  follow. 
But  you  want  to  go  careful.  No  woman  that 
ever  lived  can  make  game  of  me  —  not  for  a 
little  minute.  Don't  you  think  it." 

She  bowed  her  head  to  his  protest  and 
meekly  said,  "  Forgive  me,  Jim."  He  did 
not  immediately  reply,  and  she  laid  her  small 
hand  on  his  arm.  "  You  will,  won't  you?  I 
did  n't  mean  to  lecture  you." 

"  I  '11  see  how  you  perform  during  the  rest 
of  the  evening,"  he  grimly  replied.  He 
could  n't  have  told  what  she  had  done,  but 
something  in  her  voice  and  manner  had 
roused  him.  For  a  moment  he  suspected 
her  of  double  dealing  with  him,  and  he  added : 

"Whatever  else  you  do  with  me,  don't  you 
try  to  use  the  forked  tongue.  I  'm  Indian 
enough  to  mighty  quick  tell  when  a  woman  is 
lying.  Just  when  you  think  you  've  got  me 
guessin',  I  '11  fool  ye.  There  are  a  whole  lot 


JIM  LEADS  A   PACK-TRAIN  211 

of  things  I  don't  know,  and  don't  want  to 
know ;  but  don't  you  size  me  up  for  a  farm 
hand." 

"  You  're  a  man ! "  she  said  passionately, 
with  her  eyes  fearlessly  looking  into  his.  "  A 
big,  free,  honest,  sincere  man ;  and  I  want  you 
to  remain  so.  Go  on !  Shatter  all  our  con 
ventions  and  prejudices  and  foolish  customs. 
I  like  you  best  when  you  are  savage.  You 
walk  through  our  traditions  as  if  they  were 
mist;  you  don't  even  see  them.  Beat  me, 
bruise  me,  trample  me ;  but  don't  pay  me  com 
pliments  !  I  love  your  plainness  of  speech.  I 
believe  in  you.  You  are  real.  Oh,  if  I  only 
dared  escape, —  if  I  could, —  but  I  must  not 
dream  of  it ;  I  am  a  part  of  London,  and  must 
live  and  die  in  it." 

He  listened  to  her  incoherent  outburst 
gravely,  and  his  face  softened.  "  Something 
has  hurt  you  mighty  bad,  little  pardner.  It 
don't  seem  reasonable  that  anybody  would  do 
you  harm,  but  I  can  see  they  have,  and  I  'm 
sorry."  He  laid  his  hand  on  her  shoulder. 
"  If  I  can  do  you  any  good  —  " 

He  had  forgotten  where  they  stood,  but 
she  had  not,  and  with  a  sudden  impulse  she 
withdrew  from  the  weight  of  his  hand  and  ran 


212  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

into  the  tent.  For  the  moment  her  culture, 
her  modernity  of  thought,  her  knowledge  of 
the  world,  availed  nothing.  A  strong,  simple, 
manly  soul  had  put  her  where  she  really  be 
longed  —  among  the  piteous,  the  sick  ones  of 
the  earth.  It  was  not  a  new  mood  with  her, 
but  it  came  with  added  intensity  at  this 
time. 

It  startled  her  to  have  this  man  of  the 
mountains  read  her  to  the  soul  when  she  was 
not  only  patronizing  him,  but  pretending  to 
security  and  happiness.  He  perceived  and 
pitied  her  mental  disquietude ;  and  when  her 
inner  heart  bled  with  its  hidden  wound,  he 
knew  it,  and  loved  her,  and  tried  to  comfort 
her  as  a  big  brother  might  solace  a  little  sister 
in  agony.  After  all,  why  not  accept  his  love? 
Nothing  but  the  devotion  of  a  good  man  was 
worth  while,  after  all. 

She  remembered  with  a  twinge  of  self-con 
tempt  her  original  intention  to  use  him  as 
material  for  a  novel.  "  I  might  as  well  try  to 
harness  the  west  wind,"  she  said  to  herself. 
Her  respect  for  him  deepened  as  she  recalled 
his  firm,  clear  voice  and  quiet  eyes.  "  He 
represents  the  centrifugal  force  of  civilization, 
as  I  embody  the  centripetal.  Society  in  cen- 


JIM    LEADS   A   PACK-TRAIN  213 

tralizing  grinds  a  certain  proportion  of  us  to 
dust!  Jim  is  not  yet  in  the  grasp  of  the  mael 
strom,  while  I  —  nothing  interests  me  at  this 
moment  but  this  big  mountaineer ;  and  he  is 
my  certain  sorrow." 


VIII 
JIM   DEMANDS  A  REASON 

MARY  was  napping  when  Jim  woke  her 
by  cheerily  calling,  "Wrangle  your 
horses ! " 

Springing  up  hastily,  she  rubbed  her 
cheeks  furiously  to  remove  all  trace  of  tears, 
and  when  she  appeared  outside  the  tent 
was  as  radiant  as  if  no  cloud  had  passed  over 
her  mental  sky. 

"I  Ve  had  a  delicious  doze.  Now  for  our 
ride.  Are  you  ready  ?  " 

"  Yes.  Will  is  to  watch  the  beans.  Don't 
let  'em  boil  dry,"  he  said  in  warning. 

Together  they  walked  down  to  the  farm 
house,  where  they  found  Mrs.  Robertson 
taking  tea  with  the  farmer's  wife,  quite  in 
the  way  of  the  patronizing  city  visitor.  "  Oh, 
you  traitor !  "  cried  Mary. 

Mrs.  Robertson  had  a  mysterious  smile  on 
214 


JIM  DEMANDS  A  REASON  215 

her  face.  "  I  Ve  engaged  a  bed,"  she  whis 
pered. 

Mary  was  indignant.  "  You  shall  not  sleep 
here.  It  would  be  disgraceful." 

Jim  saddled  the  horses,  arid  brought  them 
around  to  the  door  just  as  Mary  had  drawn  a 
reluctant  promise  from  Mrs.  Robertson  that 
she  would  remain  in  camp.  Again  Jim  lifted 
Mary  to  the  saddle,  and  the  firm  grip  of  his 
hand  on  her  ankle,  as  he  set  ner  foot  in  the 
stirrup,  made  her  flush,  though  he  was  appa 
rently  without  design. 

He  swung  into  his  saddle  with  easy  grace, 
saying:  "Now,  pardner,  you  show  me  the 
trail.  I  'm  a  passenger  this  trip." 

Mary's  face  shone.  "Will  you  trust  to  my 
guidance  ?  " 

"  I  reckon  so ;  but  I  always  keep  my  eyes 
open,  and  break  a  twig  once  in  a  while,  so  I 
can  know  where  I  went  in  at,"  he  replied; 
.and  more  than  one  meaning  lay  in  his  hunter's 
phrase. 

Together  they  rode  away  down  the  valley, 
past  little  pastures  inclosed  by  flowering 
hedges,  wherein  lazy  cattle  and  sheep  grazed 
with  placid  content,  and  crossing  a  canal-like 
brook,  they  climbed  the  high  ridge  to  the 


2i6  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

east,  where  the  chalk-white  thoroughfare  ran, 
speckled  with  bicyclers  drifting  along  in  flocks 
like  birds  upon  the  wind.  Turning  aside 
from  this  highway,  Mary  followed  a  bridle 
path  through  the  furze  and  heather  down  into 
a  circular  valley,  somewhat  similar  to  the  one 
in  which  their  camp  was  pitched.  There  she 
drew  rein,  and  Jim,  dismounting,  led  his 
horse  up  to  Mary  and  curtly  asked : 

"  Want  to  get  off?  " 

For  answer  she  shook  her  foot  from  the 
stirrup,  and  he  put  his  right  arm  around  her 
and  lifted  her  from  the  saddle  to  the  ground. 

"  You  're  about  as  big  as  a  pint  of  soap." 

She  laughed.  "  That  *s  very  expressive, 
but  it  is  n't  very  nice." 

He  made  no  reply,  but  looked  away  at  the 
sky-line  with  a  peculiar  and  unwavering  direct 
ness  that  was  like  the  aim  of  a  rifle.  His 
attitude  and  profile  were  superb,  and  her 
heart  quickened  as  she  studied  him.  With 
the  trailer's  keen,  far-reaching  eye,  he  had 
caught  some  animal's  movement  on  the  hill 
side.  The  habits  of  years  of  life  on  the  trail 
were  not  easily  to  be  laid  aside. 

"I  suppose  that  must  have  been  a  fox,"  he 
said. 


JIM   DEMANDS   A   REASON  217 

"  I  see  nothing ;  but  there  are  foxes  about 
here,  I  believe." 

"  I  thought  it  was  a  coyote  at  first;  then  I 
knew  it  could  n't  be,  of  course.  Never  saw 
a  coyote,  I  reckon  ?  Well,  they  Ve  sung  me 
to  sleep  ever  since  I  was  a  kid.  I  never  got 
clear  of  'em  till  I  jumped  the  train  for  Chicago. 
I  like  to  hear  'em.  If  one  should  yap  right 
now,  I  'd  jump  clean  over  your  horse." 

"  What  are  they  like  ?  " 

"  They  're  a  small  wolf —  a  kind  of  half- 
breed  between  a  fox  and  a  wolf.  They  're 
always  hungry,  and  always  thin  as  a  match. 
But  they  are  wonderful  chaps ;  they  sure 
are  so.  The  Injuns  all  think  the  coyote  is 
a  sort  of  magician.  Sure  thing !  They  say 
'coyote  big  medicine-man  all  same  spirit,' 
and  he  certainly  is  queer.  I  never  got  to  the 
bottom  of  him.  He  's  always  lookin'  for 
something  he  's  lost,  and  his  voice  at  sunrise 
sometimes  is  like  a  woman  cryin'  over  a  dead 
child.  He  's  a  mysterious  pup,  and  no  two 
ways  about  it ;  he  and  the  loon  are  a  pair  to 
draw  to  and  beat  the  world.  I  Ve  camped 
before  now  on  the  edge  of  a  lake  with  a  couple 
o'  loons  on  one  side  of  me  and  a  coyote  on 
the  other,  and  had  more  fun  than  an  insane 


218  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

asylum.  But  see  here;  this  won't  do  !  I  got 
off  here  to  ask  you  something.  That  fox 
switched  me  off  on  a  side  trail.  Are  there 
many  women  like  you  ?  " 

"I  hope  not,"  she  replied  bitterly. 
"Why?" 

"  Nothin' ;  only  you  keep  me  guessin* 
right  straight  along.  I  don't  pretend  to 
know  many  women,  and  those  I  do  know 
are  purty  measly.  A  man  like  me  don't  have 
a  chance  to  meet-up  with  women  like  you. 
There  are  a  whole  lot  o'  things  about  you  I 
don't  savvy.  I  don't  see  why  you  're  not  as 
happy  as  a  bobolink.  Mebbe  it  *s  all  due 
to  that  feller  buried  down  there  in  the  sand 
in  Africa.  Anyhow,  I  'd  like  to  know  what 
makes  you  talk  against  your  own  people,  and 
take  up  with  an  old  two-fisted  miner  like  me. 
Out  with  it,  now.  What 's  your  little  game  ? 
Are  you  havin*  fun  with  me?  You  can't 
play  me,  my  girl,  without  giving  an  account 
of  yourself.  What  did  you  get  me  down 
here  for,  anyway?  Now  be  honest  about 
it." 

She  was  leaning  against  her  horse,  and 
her  eyes  were  on  the  ground.  Suddenly  she 
looked  at  him  timidly,  and  said  tremulously: 


JIM  DEMANDS  A  REASON  219 

"  Because  I  like  you,  Jim,  and  I  wanted  to 
know  you  better." 

"Well,  then,  come  back  to  the  mountains 
with  me." 

She  flared  out  like  a  flame,  "  Oh,  I  can't 
do  that,  Jim." 

He  put  his  big  hand  on  her  shoulder  again, 
awkwardly,  caressingly. 

"Why  not?" 

"  Oh,  I  can't  tell  you ;  it 's  just  impossible, 
that  's  all." 

"  You  hate  everything  here,  so  you  say. 
You  want  to  see  the  high  country,  you  tell 
me.  Now,  why  not  do  it  ?  I  '11  take  care  o' 
you ;  you  won't  need  to  worry  about  that. 
Of  course  I  can't  give  you  such  a  home  as 
you  have  here,  unless  the  mine  pans  out;  if 
it  does — nothing  's  too  good  for  you." 

She  took  a  seat  on  a  bank  beside  a  clump 
of  furze.  "  Sit  down,  Jim  ;  I  want  to  talk  to 
you.  I  can't  say  what  I  want  to  while  we 
stand." 

He  tethered  the  horses  to  a  shrub,  and 
dropped  on  the  grass  at  her  side.  She  ner 
vously  took  up  and  broke  small  twigs  as  he 
waited.  When  she  spoke  her  voice  was  low, 
but  it  was  firm. 


220  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"  You  can't  understand  women  like  me,  Jim. 
You  're  too  sane  and  elemental ;  your  world 
is  too  simple.  If  you  understood  our  disease, 
even  imaginatively,  I  would  n't  like  you 
any  more.  I  know  what  you  mean  when 
you  ask  me  to  share  your  life.  But  I 
distrust  myself  and  this  mood  in  which 
I  find  myself.  If  I  thought  it  would  last,  I 
might — but  it  would  not.  Our  worlds  are 
too  wide  apart ;  I  could  n't  fit  into  your 
life,  and  I  would  n't  under  any  condition  ask 
you  to  fit  into  mine.  It  would  be  wicked  to 
transform  you  into  a  citizen  of  London,  if  I 
could ;  and  of  course  I  could  n't.  You  'd  die 
here ;  you  could  n't  live  as  we  do.  I  can  see 
now  that  I  'm  going  to  be  very  sorry  when 
you  leave  England.  You  have  captured  my 
imagination — you  've  done  more  than  that. 
If  I  were  younger  I  might  adjust  myself  to 
your  ways;  but  now  it  is  impossible — quite 
impossible." 

"  I  'm  going  to  be  rich,"  he  said  quietly. 
"  It  is  n't  a  question  of  living  in  Wagon 
Wheel.  You  could  live  anywhere  —  in  the 
high  country,  anyhow." 

"I  know — I  know;  you 'd  do  every  thing  you 
could  for  me.  But  it  is  n't  that.  Even  in  a  man- 


JIM  DEMANDS  A  REASON  221 

sion  your  life  would  be  so  simple,  I  am  afraid 
of  it.  I  both  hate  and  love  the  things  that 
surround  me ;  even  the  things  I  loathe  most 
are  an  inescapable  part  of  me.  I  'm  a  bond 
woman.  I  have  moods  when  the  city,  with  its 
constant,  conventional  demands,  becomes  un 
endurable  ;  but  after  a  few  weeks  at  the  sea 
or  down  here,  I  become  restless,  and  hurry 
back  to  the  same  old  round  of  activities  we 
call  gaieties.  Nothing  interests  me  for  long. 
Everybody  bores  me,  except  you  and  Will. 
The  fact  is,  I  'm  sick  and  in  bondage." 

"  Mebbe  I  can  set  you  free,"  he  said,  lay 
ing  his  hand  on  her  wrist  —  a  tender  and  chiv- 
alric  caress.  "The  mountains  would  do  you 
good.  It 's  mighty  fine  business  to  climb  the 
Grizzly  Bear  trail." 

She  shivered  with  emotion,  but  shook  her 
head.  "  No,  no ;  it  is  madness  to  think  of  it. 
Moreover,  I  'm  not  worthy  a  big,  wholesome 
man  like  you.  I  'd  only  torture  you.  I  am 
selfish  and  greedy.  Since  Joe  died  I  Ve 
been  careless  of  the  feelings  of  men ;  I  was 
remorseless  till  I  met  you."  She  hesitated 
only  a  moment.  "  I  intended  to  amuse  my 
self  with  you  —  that  's  the  plain  truth.  You 
did  n't  bore  me.  You  were  good  'copy/  as 


222  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

the  journalists  say.  Now  I  find  myself  hurt. 
You  are  bigger  than  I  thought  you  were.  I 
fancied  you  would  be  good  game ;  you  end 
by  mastering  me.  When  you  go  I  'm  going 
to  be  sorry — but  the  memory  of  you  will  be 
good.  Now  I  have  confessed,  you  may 
strangle  me.  I  deserve  it."  She  looked  up 
at  him  with  a  look  of  fearless  question. 
"  What  are  you  going  to  say  ?  " 

His  eyes  were  like  those  of  a  beautiful  and 
kindly  animal  as  he  looked  at  her  in  deep 
thought.  He  pitied  her  without  understand 
ing  her.  When  he  spoke  it  was  in  a  musing 
tone. 

"One  year  Ramsdell  brought  a  feller  out 
from  the  States  who  talked  just  about  as 
queer  and  as  slick  as  you  do.  It  looked  like 
he  was  scheduled  to  go  over  the  Big  Di 
vide  at  the  end  of  a  week.  '  Jim,  what  '11  we  do 
with  him  ? '  asks  the  doc.  '  Put  him  to  work 
on  the  trail,'  I  said.  '  Give  him  something 
else  to  think  about  besides  his  lungs.'  '  I 
don't  know  but  you  're  right,'  he  says.  '  I 
turn  him  over  to  you.'  I  took  him  on  a  trip 
I  was  making  over  in  the  West  Elk  range, 
and  I  abused  that  feller.  I  used  to  roust  him 
out  o'  bed  before  sun-up,  and  hammer  him  up 


JIM   DEMANDS   A   REASON  225 

and  down  the  hills  till  he  was  so  dead  tired 
he  could  n't  wag  a  leg.  He  stopped  his 
queer  talk,  and  eat  three  full  meals  a  day. 
Little  pardner,  what  you  need  is  work — just 
good,  old-fashioned  buckling  right  to  it.  You 
want  to  have  something  to  do  every  day,  and 
do  it  hard,  and  get  hungry  and  leg-weary. 
That  will  cure  you." 

She  smiled,  and  shook  her  head.  "Work 
is  a  sovereign  remedy,  but  it  won't  cure  me." 

"That 's  what  that  one-lunger  said;  but  it 
did.  He  got  so  blame  sassy  toward  the  last 
that  I  had  to  mighty  near  turn  in  and  lam 
his  head.  Now  if  you  were  to  enter  new  ter 
ritory  with  me  you  might  get  a  new  grip  on 
things." 

She  wearily  rose.  "The  sky  is  getting 
gray  ;  we  must  return." 

He  said  nothing  further  on  that  line,  and 
they  rode  back  to  camp  in  almost  complete 
silence.  His  masterful  reticence  again  made 
her  afraid  of  him  even  while  she  admired  him. 
He  could  shut  his  mouth  like  a  steel  trap 
when  his  cue  for  silence  came. 


IX 

JIM   BREAKS  CAMP  ON  THE  MOOR 

r  I  ^HEY  found  Mrs.  Robertson  at  camp,  pro- 
J_  foundly  alarmed  at  the  growing  grayness 
of  the  sky.  Night  now  assumed  a  terror  it 
had  never  possessed  before. 

"Has  n't  this  gone  far  enough,  Mollie?" 
she  asked  anxiously.  "  It  is  impossible  that 
we  are  to  sleep  here  in  the  midst  of  this  wild 
field." 

"I'm  sure  our  tent  looks  very  inviting; 
besides,  our  sensations  are  only  just  begun.  I 
want  to  feel  the  darkness  pressing  round  me, 
and  I  want  to  hear  the  rain  on  the  tent.  Jim 
says  it  is  a  lovely  sound.  Then  I  want  to 
wake  in  the  night  and  fancy  I  hear  the  wolves 
howling.  Our  trip  would  be  a  failure  if  we 
failed  to  sleep  in  camp." 

Mrs.  Robertson  shuddered.  "  I  can't  under 
stand  your  depraved  tastes.  They  are  not 

normal." 

224 


JIM   BREAKS   CAMP   ON   THE   MOOR         225 

The  supper  was  less  cheerful  than  the  mid 
day  meal,  for  Jim  made  no  effort  to  lighten  it. 
He  ate  in  silence,  and  cleared  away  the  dishes 
alone,  while  the  women,  wrapped  in  thick 
rugs,  sat  in  the  door  of  the  tent  and  watched 
him.  Twombly  and  Will  smoked  while  sit 
ting  humped  before  the  fire  as  nearly  in  the 
attitude  of  red  men  as  they  knew  how.  Al 
together,  the  evening  was  oppressive  —  not  at 
all  the  jolly  camping  party  Mary  had  expected 
it  to  be ;  yet  she  knew  the  fault  was  her  own. 

When  the  camp  was  in  shape  for  the  night, 
Jim  lighted  his  pipe  and  took  his  seat  beside 
the  fire  also.  There  was  an  indefinable  grace 
and  distinction  in  his  manner,  as  he  took  his 
place  beside  the  fire,  which  did  not  escape 
Mary's  keen  eyes.  The  slant  of  his  hat  was 
just  right,  and  his  strong,  stern  profile  had 
in  it  something  of  the  serene  dignity  of  the 
Sioux. 

As  the  night  began  to  fall  the  fire  sparkled 
with  a  keener  light.  To  Mary's  mind  it 
seemed  to  take  on  new  passion  and-  added 
power  like  a  nocturnal  animal.  The  sky  grew 
thick  and  dark,  but  the  wind  died  down  and 
the  threatened  rain  did  not  come. 

Suddenly  Twombly  said:  "This  mine,  now, 
15 


226  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

Matteson;  are  there  some  good  properties 
near  —  something  one  might  reason  from  ?  " 

Jim  did  not  instantly  reply,  and  when  he 
did  his  voice  was  cold  and  his  accent 
indifferent. 

"There  are  six  million  dollars'  worth  of 
properties  on  the  same  hill,  and  it 's  my  notion 
that  we  're  in  line  to  strike  the  Concordia  vein. 
Of  course  that  's  my  notion  ;  I  can't  prove  it 
till  we  push  a  little  deeper  into  the  hill.  The 
formation  there  is  a  little  skew-geed,  and  we 
may  not  hit  it." 

Twombly  seemed  afraid  of  committing  him 
self,  and  only  said:  "It's  a  large  sum  to  put  in 
without  an  assurance  of  something  comingout." 

"  If  we  had  the  security  you  want  we 
would  n't  sell  at  all.  It  's  all  a  gamble,"  said 
Jim,  putting  up  his  pipe.  "  Come,  girls,  you  'd 
better  turn  in ;  this  fog  seems  likely  to  grow 
up  into  a  rain." 

"  Oh,  let  us  sit  up,  Jim.  I  like  to  sit  here 
and  watch  you  and  the  fire ;  it  makes  me  feel 
like  a  squaw  —  or  something  prehistoric." 

Mrs.  Robertson  moaned.  "  I  wish  I  were 
"back  in  Wyndhurst.  I  shall  be  ill  of  a  cold 
to-morrow ;  I  know  I  shall." 

"I   '11  see  that  you  don't  take  cold,"  said 


JIM  BREAKS  CAMP  ON  THE  MOOR    227 

Jim,  coming  to  the  tent.  "  Where  is  your 
candle?" 

After  lighting  the  candle,  he  set  to  work 
at  the  bed.  "  You  want  the  bulk  of  your 
blankets  beneath  you,"  he  said;  "the  cold 
comes  up  from  below  when  the  ground  is 
damp.  In  the  mountains,  in  the  fall,  the 
ground  is  warmer  than  the  air,  and  you  want 
to  keep  close  to  it.  A  big  rock  will  hold  the 
heat  all  night  —  there  you  want  the  cover 
over  ye,  but  here  it 's  the  cold  below  that  '11 
make  your  bones  ache." 

After  he  had  rearranged  the  bed,  he  handed 
the  candle  to  Mary.  "  I  reckon  you  Ve  got 
'  kiver '  enough.  Good  night ! " 

"  Good  night,  Jim  !  " 

Jim  dropped  the  flap  of  the  tent  and  tied 
the  string.  "  If  you  hear  a  bear  nosin'  around 
during  the  night,  just  let  him  alone  and  he  '11 
go  off.  The  coyotes  may  begin  to  yelp  about 
midnight ;  but  they  're  harmless,  too." 

Mrs.  Robertson  was  not  amused,  and  after 
Jim  went  away  she  said  :  "I  think  his  pleas 
antry  is  ill-judged.  I  know  I  shall  not  sleep 
a  wink  under  these  conditions,  and  I  'm  per 
fectly  certain  I  shall  hear  a  whole  menagerie 
of  wild  beasts  during  the  night." 


228  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

"  I  am  blissful,  resigned,"  Mary  dreamily 
replied.  "  I  wish  I  could  be  scared ;  but  I  'm 
not :  I  'm  only  sleepy.  If  an  elephant  trum 
peted  I  would  n't  hear  him." 

"  Oh,  what  is  that  ?  "  Mrs.  Robertson  turned 
to  inquire  with  wild  eyes. 

A  low,  muffled,  hollow  wail  arose  in  the 
darkness  outside.  It  mounted  to  a  howl,  then 
died  suddenly  away,  only  to  rise  again,  wild, 
sorrowful,  hungry,  appalling,  and  savage.  It 
stiffened  both  women  in  terror,  and  Mary 
shuddered  with  exquisite  horror.  The  cry 
rose  like  the  moan  of  a  big,  wounded,  despair 
ing  dog.  It  was  as  if  a  lonely  forest  had 
found  voice  or  the  hollow  night  had  con 
densed  itself  into  a  cry  of  anguish  and  fore 
boding.  At  last  it  ended,  and  Twombly  cried : 
"  Bravo  !  Well  done  !  " 

"  Oh  !  "  cried  Mary,  "  it  is  Jim  ;  he  's  deter 
mined  to  make  the  play  as  realistic  as  possible. 
That  is  the  howl  of  the  coyote,  I  suppose." 

"  I  wish  he  were  a  little  less  solicitous  about 
his  play.  He  gave  me  a  terrible  fright.  My 
heart  is  thumping  so  hard  I  can  hardly 
breathe.  If  I  live  till  morning  I  shall  cer 
tainly  go  back  to  London  and  stay  there. 
I  'm  not  fitted  to  be  a  hunter  of  wild  animals." 


JIM  BREAKS    CAMP   ON   THE    MOOR         229 

Mary  laughed  and  called  out :  "  Was  that 
the  coyote,  Jim  ?  " 

"  Well,  not  exactly,"  he  replied.  "  That 
was  the  timber- wolf  when  he  is  hungry  and 
the  snow  beginning  to  fall.  I  '11  give  you  his 
signal  when  he  sees  game  and  wants  com 
pany."  He  uttered  a  different  note,  less 
mournful,  but  with  greater  carrying  power. 
"That  means,  'Come  on;  I  need  help,'"  he 
explained.  "  I  '11  give  you  the  coyote  song 
now,"  he  called,  and  immediately  broke  forth 
into  a  singular,  high-keyed,  yelping  clamor 
that  made  Mrs.  Robertson  seize  Mary  by  the 
arm  and  grip  hard. 

"  Ask  him  to  stop ,  "  she  gasped.  "  It  gets 
on  my  nerves." 

"  That 's  beautiful !  "  Mary  called  out ;  "  but 
Grace  is  frightened  nearly  out  of  her  senses. 
Please  don't  do  it  any  more." 

The  men  all  laughed,  and  Jim  said:  "  I  'd 
like  to  give  you  the  cry  o'  the  loon,  but  I 
reckon  we  'd  have  the  whole  township  a-ramp- 
in'  down  on  us  if  I  did.  It  's  bedtime,  any 
how  ;  so  good  night  again  ! " 

"This  is  all  superb  material  for  me,"  re 
marked  Mary  to  Mrs.  Robertson.  "  If  I  could 
only  use  it  properly,  but  —  " 


230  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"  He  might  have  spared  us  his  animal 
show,"  interrupted  Mrs.  Robertson. 

"  I  wish  you  were  n't  so  idiotic  at  times, 
Grace.  You  're  going  to  spoil  the  whole 
trip  if  you  keep  on."  This  was  the  first  note 
of  protest  which  Mary  had  permitted  herself. 
Her  voice  cut  deep,  and  Mrs.  Robertson  closed 
her  lips  so  tight  they  quivered.  Mary  was 
immediately  remorseful :  "  Forgive  me,  dear ; 
I  did  n't  mean  to  be  so  cross."  And  Mrs.  Rob 
ertson  said:  "  I  '11  try  to  bear  it  for  your  sake ; 
but  it  is  so  foolish  and  dangerous  to  be  out 
here  and  the  rain  coming  on." 

Eventually  they  kissed  each  other  and  went 
to  bed  friends,  though  Mary  was  amazed  at 
the  action  of  her  companion,  whom  these  un 
wonted  surroundings  subdued  from  a  proud 
and  self-contained  matron  to  the  mental  stat 
ure  of  a  nervous  child. 

Mrs.  Robertson  effectually  put  an  end  to  the 
camping  expedition.  She  passed  a  miserable 
night;  and  when  Jim,  imitating  the  far-off, 
liquid,  flute-like  wail  of  the  coyote  at  dawn, 
roused  all  the  camp,  her  mind  was  made  up. 
"  I  cannot  endure  another  such  night,"  she 
said.  "  I  'm  completely  fagged  out.  I  must 
find  other  ways  of  amusing  myself." 


JIM  BREAKS  CAMP  ON  THE  MOOR        231 

Mary,  who  had  slept  very  well  the  latter 
part  of  the  night,  looked  at  her  and  laughed. 
"  You  poor  wreck  !  The  doctor  should  see 
you  now." 

"  Don't  revile  me,  dear.  If  I  look  the  way 
I  feel,  I  must  be  dreadful ;  but  you  should 
pity  me,  not  make  game  of  me,  after  the  sacri 
fices  I  Ve  made  to  your  whims.  I  Ve  done  a 
good  deal  for  you,  Mary  Brien,  but  this  is 
decidedly  too  much." 

Mary  yawned.  "It  did  n't  rain  after  all; 
but  oh,  is  n't  it  cold  outside !  I  'm  glad  I  'm 
not  obliged  to  kindle  the  fire  and  get  break 
fast.  It  really  would  have  been  cheerless  this 
morning  if  it  had  rained  during  the  night." 
She  peered  out.  "  Is  n't  Jim  a  comfort  ?  He 
has  a  bright  fire  going,  and  coffee  hot." 

Mrs.  Robertson  drew  a  rug  about  her 
shoulders.  "  I  am  in  perfect  torture.  I  can 
neither  lie  down  nor  sit  up.  Every  bone  I 
possess  is  aching.  I  never  had  such  a  feeling 
in  my  life.  I  believe  I  'm  going  to  have  pneu 
monia.  I  wish  the  doctor  would  come  and 
take  me  away." 

"I-  wish  he  would,  dear,"  Mary  tartly  re 
plied,  as  she  returned  to  her  bed. 

"  Well,  girls  !  "  called  Jim,  at  the  door  of  the 


232  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

tent ;  and  Mrs.  Robertson  dived  beneath  the 
coverlet,  and  heard  no  more  of  his  morning 
greeting  as  he  untied  the  tent-strings.  "  Day 
light  down  the  crick.  Birds  a-singin' — the 
night  herd  comin'  over  the  hill." 

Mary  sprang  up  and  began  dressing.  The 
men  were  talking  in  their  tent,  and  Twombly 
was  saying :  "  Slept  like  a  top  —  a  regular 
hummer." 

"There  was  a  hummock  under  my  bed 
which  began  as  a  mole-hill  and  ended  by  be 
coming  Mount  Ararat,"  replied  Will;  "other 
wise  I  was  quite  comfortable." 

Before  they  were  fairly  clothed,  Jim  called 
with  peculiar  intonation:  "Grub-pile!  Every 
body  rustle  and  walk  chalk,  or  the  snakes  '11 
git  ye !  Wow,  wow,  wow  — whoop  !  " 

Every  one  responded  but  Mrs.  Robertson. 
Mary  came  forth  as  vivid  as  a  rain-wet  pink, 
and  with  a  pretty  swagger  walked  up  to  the 
fire.  "  Hello,  pard  !  Top  o'  the  mornin'  to 
ye!" 

Jim's  heart  warmed  to  her  mightily.  She 
was  so  exquisite  of  color,  and  so  amusing  as  she 
rubbed  her  little  fists  together  before  the  blaze. 

His  greeting  was  mystic :  "  Well,  now, 
how  are  they  comin'  ?  " 


JIM  BREAKS  CAMP  ON  THE  MOOR    233 

"  Whom  do  you  mean  ?  " 

He  smiled.     "  Where  's  the  tenderfoot  ?  " 

"  She  's  abed.  Wants  her  coffee  brought 
to  her." 

"She  's  all  right,"  he  replied  in  a  tone  that 
meant  she  was  all  wrong.  "  Mebbe  she 
thinks  this  is  a  hotel  with  nigger  waiters." 

Mary  could  not  help  a  little  shiver.  It  was 
barely  sunrise,  and  the  moor  was  desolate 
and  gray  with  morning  mist.  The  wind  was 
keen,  and  though  Jim  had  erected  a  canvas 
wall  to  shield  the  table  from  its  sweep,  it  was 
a  cheerless  breakfast-scene  to  a  delicate 
woman.  But  Mary  was  too  proud  to  show 
her  dismay.  She  took  her  seat  at  the  table, 
and  made  a  brave  show  of  eating  the  bacon 
and  beans  and  the  hot  bread  which  Jim  set 
before  her  amply. 

The  camping  expedition  ended  right  there. 
The  day  continued  cold  and  gray,  and  Mrs. 
Robertson's  coffee  merely  gave  her  courage 
to  dress  and  to  complain.  "  Mollie,  you  must 
let  me  go  back  to  Wyndhurst.  I  will  not 
stay  here  another  hour.  It  's  all  very  well 
for  a  harum-scarum  like  you,  but  I  cannot 
be  your  chaperon  at  such  sacrifice." 

Mary    reluctantly    asked    Jim   to   get   the 


234  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

horses  and  send  them  home.  "  Grace  has 
worked  herself  into  a  state  of  frenzy,  and  of 
course  if  she  goes  I  must  go  too.  I  am 
sorry,  but  you  know  it  is  a  good  deal  to  ask 
of  a  person  so  conventional  as  Grace." 

Jim  took  this  request  in  good  spirit. 

"All  right,  pardner;  you  're  the  doctor.  We 
hit  the  back  trail  whenever  you  give  the  sign. 
Reckon  we  Ve  about  got  to  the  end  of  our 
rope,  anyway.  This  kind  of  campin'  makes 
me  think  of  a  horse-race  in  a  theater  show  I 
saw  in  Denver  once.  The  horses  racked 
away  hard,  and  the  jockeys  plied  the  quirt ;  but 
they  were  nailed  to  the  floor :  it  was  only  the 
scenery  drifting  past."  He  smiled  again,  with 
a  slow  growth  of  little  wrinkles  round  his  eyes. 
"When  you  come  out  to  Colorado,  I  '11  take 
you  on  a  campin'  trip  where  the  sceneries 
are  stationary  and  the  horses  do  all  the 
hustlin'." 

The  retreat  was  made  in  good  order.  Jim 
refused  to  divide  his  party,  but  led  his  little 
pack-train  back  with  the  same  seriousness 
with  which  he  had  gone  forth.  He  gravely  un 
packed  before  the  door,  and  laid  everything  in 
its  place  before  he  finally  relinquished  com 
mand. 


JIM   BREAKS   CAMP   ON   THE   MOOR         235 

"  Now  I  'm  a  passenger  again,"  he  said  as 
he  turned  away. 

Mary  smiled  with  a  certain  sadness  as  she 
said:  "All  this  outfit  I  shall  preserve  in  mem 
ory  of  you." 

"They  come  purty  near  representin'  me," 
he  said,  glancing  back  at  them.  "  They  're 
the  tools  I  know  best." 

He  was  silent  at  lunch.  After  they  rose 
from  the  table  he  went  out  for  a  walk,  and 
was  gone  till  nearly  dinner-time.  Whether 
he  had  walked  all  the  afternoon  or  not  he  did 
not  say,  but  he  had  recovered  his  usual  good 
humor,  and  laid  out  his  maps  before  Twombly 
and  for  half  an  hour  really  assumed  the  r61e  of 
salesman.  Mary  kept  within  ear-shot,  delight 
ing  in  the  talk  of  shafts,  tunnels,  up-raises, 
free-milling  ore,  and  questions  of  veins  pinch 
ing  out  or  faulting,  as  Jim  pitted  his  practical 
experience  against  Twombly's  theoretical 
knowledge. 

As  Mary  said,  "  Dinner  is  ready,"  Jim,  with 
no  other  sign  of  having  heard  her,  rolled  his 
papers  together. 

"  There  is  the  proposition.  All  we  ask  is 
an  investigation.  You  take  it  or  leave  it. 
My  comin'  over  here  was  the  doc's  doings. 


236  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

I  wanted  to  deal  with  Denver  men  on  a  small 
scale ;  but  my  pardner  said  no ;  it  was  a  big- 
thing,  and  London  the  place  to  get  it  consid 
ered.  As  the  Indians  say,  '  I  have  spoken.' ' 

He  was  fairly  companionable  at  the  table, 
and  told  a  number  of  stories  which  caused  the 
stolid  Twombly  to  exclaim;  but  to  Mary's 
subtler  sense  the  miner  was  restless  and 
distrait.  As  soon  as  they  were  alone  he 
said: 

"Well,  little  pardner,  I  'm  going  back  to 
London  to  hustle.  If  you  '11  have  my  truck 
packed  to  the  station  — " 

"  You  don't  mean  to-night?  " 

"  I  mean  this  minute." 

"  Oh,  no.  Don't  go  to-night.  I  want  to 
talk  with  you.  I  was  going  to  propose  a 
walk  on  the  moor." 

"  Do  we  go  alone?"  he  asked  quickly. 

She  hesitated.  "Why,  yes  —  if  you  'd 
rather." 

"Then  I  stay,"  he  said.  "Pull  on  your 
rubber  boots." 

Mary  had  a  deliciously  guilty  feeling  as  she 
said  to  Grace :  "Jim  and  I  are  out  for  a  little 
spin  on  the  moor.  Will  you  go  ?  " 

"  Certainly   not,"   was   the   blunt    answer. 


JIM   BREAKS   CAMP   ON   THE  MOOR         237 

"  The  grass  is  wet,  and  I  'm  tired.  I  'm  going 
straight  to  my  room." 

To  Twombly,  sunk  low  in  his  chair,  enjoy 
ing  his  pipe,  she  took  a  different  tack : 

"  We  are  going  up  to  the  old  inn  for  a  few 
minutes.  Will  you  go  too  ?  " 

"  Thanks ;  not  just  now,  if  you  '11  pardon  me. 
I  'm  quite  like  an  anaconda.  I  shall  not  be 
able  to  move  for  an  hour.  You  won't  mind, 
will  you  ?  " 

"  Oh,  not  at  all,"  replied  Mary,  with  a 
righteous  feeling  that  her  duties  as  hostess 
were  discharged  in  the  letter  at  least.  It 
was  a  keen  pleasure  to  be  alone  with  this  un 
accountable  mountaineer,  whose  words  sprang 
forth  from  the  secret  places  of  his  thought  like 
forest  birds,  with  much  noise  of  wings,  but 
gentle  of  spirit.  She  was  so  curious  to  know 
what  he  wished  to  say  that  she  would  have 
dared  much  to  take  his  arm  in  the  dusk. 

Without  hesitation  he  struck  out  along  the 
road  which  ran  on  the  very  top  of  the  "  hog 
back,"  as  he  called  it,  and  his  long  strides 
kept  her  trotting  to  keep  up.  He  was  silent 
at  first,  and  too  absorbed  in  thought  to  take 
note  of  her  effort  in  keeping  pace  with  him. 

She  was  forced  to  protest : 


238  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"What  a  long-legged  creature  you  are !" 

He  paused.  "  Did  I  strike  too  high  a 
gait?" 

"  Mercy !  I  should  think  so.  I  'm  posi 
tively  breathless  already." 

"  I  'm  sorry.  I  did  n't  notice.  Why  did  n't 
you  say  so  ?  " 

11 1  was  too  proud,  I  reckon,"  she  said  hum 
bly.  "  I  wanted  to  be  a  good  trailer." 

"You  're  too  little  to  be  anything  but  a 
ghost,"  he  said,  looking  down  at  her. 
"  Every  little  while  I  get  a  real  notion  of  you, 
and  then  you  're  nothin'  but  a  baby.  That 's 
what  you  are  —  a  doll  baby.  Your  head  's 
all  right ;  but  look  at  your  wrists  !  About  as 
big  as  two  straws."  She  looked  at  them  in 
the  dim  moonlight. 

"And  your  neck."  She  put  her  hands  to 
her  throat.  "  About  as  big  as  my  wrist.  But 
the  comical  thing  is,  I  would  n't  have  you  any 
bigger.  You  've  got  me  twisted  as  it  is." 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  '  twisted '  ?  " 

"What  am  I  doin'  down  here?  Do  you 
know?  What  did  I  come  to  England  for? 
See  you?  Looks  like  it,  don't  it?  Nice 
howl  I  'd  get  from  the  doc  if  he  knew  how  I 
was  putting  in  my  time.  He  sends  me  out  to 


JIM   BREAKS  CAMP  ON  THE   MOOR         239 

round-up  some  mustangs,  and  I  stop  and  go 
to  eatin'  blackberries  with  the  birds." 

She  laughed  out  joyously.  "  Well,  maybe 
the  mustangs  will  come  home  themselves,  like 
Miss  Bo-peep's  sheep." 

"  Mustangs  ain't  built  that  way.  You  Ve 
got  to  rustle  and  howl  and  cuss  and  throw 
stones  and  wade  in  the  sloos  before  you  get 
'em  all  in.  What  am  I  doin'  now  —  this  min 
ute  ?  I  'm  takin'  a  walk  with  a  girl,  when  I 
ought  to  be  on  my  way  to  London  to  sell  a 
mine." 

"  Mr.  Twombly  will  take  — " 

"  Twombly ! "  His  scornful  tone  was  most 
emphatic.  "  Say,  let  me  tell  you.  I  've  been  in 
a  store  in  Wagon  Wheel  'fore  now,  and  seen 
women  come  in  and  paw  over  calico  of  every 
shade  in  the  box,  and  price  it  all,  and  think 
hard,  and  then  paw  down  another  pile,  and 
finally  say,  '  So  much  obliged,'  and  go  out. 
That 's  Twombly." 

He  struck  out  again,  but  at  a  slower  pace ; 
and  at  last  they  stood  on  a  high  knoll,  with  a 
pale  moon  wallowing  in  mist  overhead,  and 
the  mysterious  blackness  of  the  moon  lying  on 
either  side,  with  only  one  or  two  lights  to  in 
dicate  the  presence  of  man. 


240  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

Jim  straightened  himself  and  drew  a  deep 
breath.  "  This  is  worth  while.  I  can  pretty 
near  imagine  I  'm  on  the  top  of  the  hog-back 
butte.  The  air  here  is  fit  to  breathe." 

Mary  moved  a  little  closer  to  him.  "  This 
is  a  grim  old  spot.  In  the  good  old  days  the 
coaches  used  to  be  stopped  here  by  highway 
men." 

"  It  would  be  a  good  place  for  a  hold-up. 
But  see  here ;  this  won't  do.  This  air  is  sure 
chilly.  Let 's  take  the  back  track." 

As  they  reached  the  broad,  beaten  carriage- 
road,  Jim  said :  "  I  leave  here  to-morrow  morn- 
in',  and  then  it 's  a  case  of  hustle  till  something 
drops ;  and  then  no  more  England  for  me." 

"  Anyhow  we  Ve  had  a  pleasant  week  of  it, 
have  n't  we  ?  " 

He  did  not  reply,  for  he  was  thinking  of 
roaring  old  London,  and  how  much  grimmer 
it  was  going  to  be  without  Mary  and  Will. 
Mary  led  the  conversation  to  more  imper 
sonal  topics,  and  they  reached  the  house 
before  Jim  again  shook  off  his  reticence. 

"I  'm  mightily  obliged  to  you,  Mary. 
You  Ve  tried  to  help  me,  and  you  sure  have 
been  a  comfort  to  me.  But  when  a  man  is 
a  miner,  and  forced  to  whack  his  living  out  of 


JIM  BREAKS   CAMP  ON   THE   MOOR         241 

lumps  of  quartz,  it  stands  him  in  hand  not  to 
forget  it  —  not  for  a  minute.  It  's  different 
with  you  and  Will.  Everything  's  sort  o* 
smoothed  out  for  you.  What  is  just  common 
every-day  life  to  you  is  a  waste  of  time  for  me. 
So,  as  I  say,  our  trails  fork  right  here.  I  may 
strike  it,  and  I  may  not.  I  think  we  Ve  got 
it ;  but  gold  is  a  mighty  shy  proposition.  It 's 
where  you  find  it ;  that 's  all.  So,  as  I  say, 
I  'm  much  obliged.  You  've  tried  to  help  me 
interest  Twombly,  and  I  take  the  word  for  the 
deed—" 

"I  '11  take  stock  myself,  Jim,"  she  eagerly 
interrupted,  feeling  the  discouragement  of  his 
mood. 

"  No ;  I  can't  do  that  now,"  he  said  firmly. 
"  Good  night." 


JIM   RETURNS  TO   LONDON 

AS  the  mountaineer  reentered  London  the 
j[\  next  morning  it  was  again  the  destruc 
tive  maelstrom  it  seemed  on  his  first  arrival. 
He  went  back  to  the  same  little  hotel,  but 
took  a  larger  room,  and  opened  his  box  of  ore 
samples  and  got  out  his  photographs  of  the 
mine  and  the  locality.  He  was  obliged  to 
draw  again  on  his  partner  for  funds,  and  it 
made  him  sick  at  heart  to  spend  so  much 
money  to  so  little  purpose.  Under  the  spur 
of  this  feeling  he  began  a  brisk  campaign. 
His  days  were  torture  and  his  evenings  were 
lonely  and  very  gloomy.  His  proud  soul 
chafed  under  the  neglects  and  insolences  of 
lackeys,  and  resented  the  blunt  questions 
of  capitalists. 

"If  this  is  so  good  a  venture,  why  do  you 
come   here  ?       Could   n't   you    interest   men 

nearer  home  ? "  were  questions  he  could  not 

242 


JIM  RETURNS  TO  LONDON       243 

heartily  respond  to,  for  he  had  never  agreed 
with  Ramsdell  in  this  plan. 

With  a  feeling  that  his  relations  with  Mary 
were  completely  broken,  he  read  his  letters 
from  Bessie  and  Mrs.  Ramsdell  with  more 
interest  than  he  had  felt  for  some  weeks. 
Bessie  wrote  very  charmingly,  giving  all  the 
news  of  the  family,  and  expressing  the  great 
interest  they  were  all  taking  in  his  splendid 
effort  to  save  the  mine.  Her  small,  well- 
governed  handwriting  expressed  the  charm 
of  her  sweet  and  simple  nature  to  him,  and 
under  the  influence  of  it  he  wrote  her  a  letter 
which  filled  nearly  two  pages  of  note-paper. 

"  Im  mighty  glad  to  hear  from  camp,"  he 
wrote.  "  Im  standing  on  a  slippery  cedar- 
root  in  this  big  swamp,  and  the  mud  is  bot 
tomless  and  the  snakes  are  thick.  I  dont 
know  how  Im  goin  to  pull  out,  but  111  hit 
dry  ground  soon." 

Ramsdell's  letters  had  become  a  little 
urgent.  "All  depends  on  you,  Jim,"  he 
wrote.  "  I  don't  want  to  hurry  you,  but 
don't  waste  time.  I  'm  sending  the  draft  you 
asked  for,  but  it  pinches  me  a  little.  I  hate 
to  see  that  mine  waiting  out  there.  I  've  cut 
down  the  force  to  six  men.  Get  a  large 


244  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

t 

hump  on  yourselfj  and  pull  us  out  o*  the  hole 
if  possible.  Beware  of  the  charmer,  old  man. 
Disable  the  '  Earl,'  and  come  home  as  quick 
as  possible." 

His  former  dependence  upon  Mary  became 
more  and  more  evident  as  he  went  about  the 
streets  alone  during  that  week.  He  became 
irritable  as  well  as  reticent,  and  the  man  who 
took  liberties  with  him  regretted  it.  He  was 
distinctly  less  social,  and  the  porter  and  the 
waiters  missed  his  former  hearty  greeting. 
Even  Dr.  Robertson  found  him  difficult  to  draw 
out,  and  he  flatly  refused  to  come  to  dinner. 
His  dislike  of  Mrs.  Robertson  was  now  fixed, 
though  he  was  (for  a  moment)  amused  at  her 
return  to  the  airs  and  graces  of  a  society 
hostess — so  calm,  so  gracious,  so  patronizing. 
She  was  on  her  native  carpet  now,  and  could 
speak  of  "  that  delicious  little  camping  trip  of 
ours,"  even  to  Jim  himself. 

Mary  had  not  for  a  moment  intended  to 
lose  sight  of  her  mountaineer,  and  toward  the 
end  of  the  week  she  wrote  a  little  note  and 
mailed  it  to  his  old  address : 

We  are  coming  back  to  town  on  Monday.  I  found  it 
too  lonesome  out  here  with  my  mountaineer  away.  Come 
to  me  for  lunch  at  one.  I  want  to  hear  how  you  get  on. 


JIM  RETURNS  TO  LONDON       245 

Mr.  Twombly  left  the  same  day  you  did — bound  for  Exeter, 
he  said,  to  see  his  brother.  I  think  he  is  favorable  to  your 
proposition.  Don't  be  discouraged  about  him. 

This  letter  opened  up  a  trail  he  had  con 
sidered  locked  beyond  retracing.  His  first 
sound  impulse  was  to  curtly  say,  "  I'm  too  busy ; 
I  can't  come."  But  the  longing  to  see  Mary's 
bright  face  overcame  him,  and  he  scrawled  a 
characteristic  line : 

111  be  there.        JIM. 

Once  again  in  her  presence,  he  surrendered 
himself  completely  to  the  comfort  of  her  sym 
pathetic  smile  and  the  charm  of  her  voice. 
Her  eager,  searching  eyes  hardly  left  his  face 
during  lunch,  and  she  pierced  to  the  lowest 
deep  of  his  discouragement  at  once. 

"  You  can't  do  anything  working  alone 
that  way,"  she  said,  after  he  had  detailed  a 
few  of  his  discouragements.  "These  things 
go  by  favor  —  like  kissing.  You  must  make 
acquaintances ;  you  must  let  me  introduce 
you  to  nice  people  ;  you  must  go  with  Will  to 
the  clubs." 

In  the  end  she  convinced  him,  and  secured 
from  him  a  promise  to  go  to  afternoon  tea  at 


246  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

the  home  of  a  well-known  editor  of  a  weekly 
paper.  In  a  word,  she  took  charge  of  him 
again,  quite  ignoring  his  good-by  on  the  moor, 
and  after  a  week  filled  with  rebuffs  and  barely 
civil  treatment  on  the  part  of  London  business 
men,  Jim  found  the  Brien  flat  a  very  beautiful 
place  to  take  refuge  in.  He  did  not  entirely 
lose  his  sense  of  humor  even  under  these  try 
ing  circumstances.  "  I  have  n't  walked  so 
much  since  I  went  to  district  school  in  Kansas," 
he  said  once,  as  he  came  in.  "I  started 
out  to  see  a  feller  who  told  me  to  'come  in 
again ' ;  but  when  I  got  to  his  door  I  shied 
round  the  corner  and  walked  back.  I  could 
n't  face  his  clerk  without  killin'  him.  I  can 
stand  the  old  beefers  in  the  inside  office  —  if 
I  can  reach  'em ;  but  that  's  just  it.  To  do 
it  I  Ve  got  to  throttle  the  little  skunk  who 
says,  '  Nime  and  business,  please.' ' 

When  not  with  Mary  he  did  not  know  how 
to  employ  his  time.  He  was  really  waiting 
for  Twombly  to  make  the  next  advance,  and 
while  walking  aimlessly  about  the  city  his 
mind  dwelt  on  the  Englishman's  last  letter,  in 
which  he  said : 

"  I  have  talked  your  mine  over  with  my 
brothers,  and  if  I  do  not  go  to  South  Africa  I 


JIM  RETURNS  TO  LONDON       247 

may  go  to  America  with  you.  I  will  let  you 
know  in  a  few  days  quite  definitely.  Mean 
time  don't  let  any  other  offer  wait  on  mine." 

The  plain  truth  was,  Jim  had  lost  all  confi 
dence  in  his  power  to  do  the  work  his  partner 
set  for  him  to  do,  and  yet  he  could  not  bring 
himself  to  abandon  the  field  and  return,  hun 
dreds  of  dollars  poorer  than  when  he  came. 

Time  would  have  hung  heavily  on  his 
hands  had  not  all  his  afternoons  been  taken 
up  by  singular  social  expeditions,  the  purport 
of  which  he  did  not  in  the  least  comprehend. 
He  often  drove  with  Mary  in  the  park,  or 
rode  with  her,  training  his  horse  to  guide  in 
the  cow-boy  fashion.  In  all  ways  he  remained 
the  mountaineer.  Mary  had  no  wish  to  see 
him  conform  to  British  models ;  on  the  con 
trary,  she  continued  to  delight  in  his  most 
noticeable  characteristics,  and  was  quite  indif 
ferent  to  the  gossip  of  her  friends.  She  took 
him  with  her  to  call  at  great  houses  where 
"  hired  hands  "  in  gay  red-and-yellow  coats 
stood  in  rows  beside  the  doorway;  and  Jim 
shook  the  cold  hands  of  thin  ladies  and  the 
puffy  hands  of  fat  old  gentlemen,  while  Mary 
smilingly  introduced  him  as  "  Mr.  Matteson  of 
Colorado." 


248  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

"What  does  it  all  lead  to,  pardner?"  he 
asked  once,  as  they  were  driving  home  from  a 
visit  of  this  character. 

"  Trust  it  all  to  me,"  she  replied. 

"  I  reckon  I  '11  have  to,"  he  said,  and  imme 
diately  became  silent  and  sad.  He  was  indeed 
trusting  all  to  her ;  he  was  doing  nothing  on 
his  own  part  now,  and  at  times  he  was  at  the 
point  of  giving  it  up  entirely. 

During  these  days  of  trial  he  went  to  Mary, 
sure  of  an  attentive  ear  and  a  radiant  smile.  At 
the  start  he  had  talked  of  the  mountains  to  en 
tertain  others;  now  he  talked  of  them  to  hearten 
himself.  Nearly  every  day  he  called  he  had  a 
new  story  of  his  old-time  prospecting  tours,  and 
Mary's  dilated  eyes  helped  him  to  feel  once 
more  the  stern  presence  of  the  shining  peaks. 

There  were  times  when  he  had  more  than 
a  suspicion  that  people  were  "having  fun  with 
him,"  but  considered  it  an  "even  break"  so 
long  as  he  got  a  little  amusement  out  of  it 
himself.  But  when  he  had  attended  three  or 
four  precisely  similar  receptions,  all  incredibly 
dull,  he  said :  "  See  here,  little  pard ;  I  'm 
willing  to  play  horse  so  long  as  it  amuses 
you,  but  I  don't  think  you  Ye  gettin'  much 
out  of  this  business  yourself.  How  about  it  ?" 


JIM  RETURNS  TO  LONDON       249 

Mary  laughed  "  No,  I  don't;  but  to-day  I 
expected  to  have  you  meet  an  old  lady  we 
want  to  interest  in  the  mine  scheme.  She 
has  a  son,  and  is  eager  to  settle  him  in  some 
thing." 

"  All  right ;  anything  to  pull  that  hole  out 
of  the  ground." 

By  such  means  she  continued  to  exhibit 
him  in  drawing-rooms  where  his  presence  was 
almost  as  exciting  as  that  of  a  Navajo  medi 
cine-man.  He  could  not  complain  of  any 
plan  which  kept  him  near  Mary,  whose  allure 
ment  became  more  powerful  day  by  day.  He 
had  given  up  any  notion  that  she  might  go 
home  with  him ;  he  went  to  see  her  because 
she  pleased  him  —  made  his  life  less  lonely 
and  lightened  his  discouragements.  It  was  a 
keen  pleasure  just  to  sit  low  in  his  chair  and 
look  at  her.  When  his  work  for  the  day  was 
done  he  went  straight  to  her. 

"  Well,  pardner,  what  's  the  program  for 
to-day?" 

London  itself  became  ever  more  hateful  to 
him.  What  did  it  all  amount  to,  anyway? 
It  was  nothing,  he  thought,  but  a  jumble  of 
old  bricks  and  mortar,  soaked  with  sweat  and 
blood,  swarming  with  men  and  women  as  un- 


250  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

important  as  lice  and  almost  as  ephemeral. 
Set  over  against  the  peaks  and  the  clear,  cold 
streams  of  the  "high  country,"  it  was  a  place 
of  fever-germinating  sewers  and  pest-houses 
—  a  place  where  men  died  under  one  another's 
eyes.  Something  of  this  he  expressed  to  Mary 
one  day  when  he  came  in  worn  with  fruitless 
interviews. 

She  cordially  agreed  with  him.  "  Of  course 
you  're  right.  London  is  a  wen — the  wen  of 
civilization.  Civilization  writhes  in  agony, 
and  great  cities  result.  But  you  must  not 
let  London  defeat  you.  Forget  it  all  when 
you  come  to  me.  Let  's  take  a  gallop  in  the 
park,  and  fancy  we  're  on  the  trail  again.  I 
have  some  news  for  you.  I  saw  Twombly 
again  to-day.  I  think  he  has  determined  to 
go  over  and  inspect  the  mine ;  but  he  is  so 
stupidly  sly.  He  prides  himself  on  his  self- 
restraint.  By  the  way,  we  are  invited  to  Sel- 
don  Douglass's  reception  Tuesday.  I  know 
you  hate  these  things,  but  I  'd  like  you  to  go. 
There  are  a  few  people  there  who  are  worth 
while." 

"  Well,  now,  see  here,  little  pardner ;  I  Ve 
reached  the  limit.  I  can't  stand  any  more 
of — "  At  this  moment  a  couple  of  the  wide- 


JIM  RETURNS  TO  LONDON       251 

hatted  men  of  the  Australian  militia  passed 
the  window,  and  he  called  out : 

"  Hello,  there  are  some  of  the  '  rooster- 
tails  ' !  That  reminds  me,  we  have  n't  been 
over  to  see  their  camp  yet,  have  we  ?  " 

"I  '11  secure  tickets  at  once,"  she  replied. 
"  Say  to-morrow  after  lunch.  Twombly  is 
coming,  and  we  '11  all  go  to  Earl's  Court.  This 
afternoon  I  want  you  to  go  to  Mrs.  Semple's 
tea." 

Jim  rose,  ominously  stern.  "  Little  pard- 
ner,  I  'm  done.  Right  here  I  quit  fooling 
and  begin  to  fight."  He  looked  at  her  stead 
ily.  "  I  Ve  taken  a  hand  in  these  teas  and 
lunches  to  please  you,  because  you  said  it 
was  all  right ;  but  from  this  time  on,  you  Ve 
got  to  tell  me  the  kind  of  a  shindig  I  'm  gal 
loping  down  into  before  I  stir  a  hoof.  This 
'  Wild  West '  Africa  interests  me  a  whole  lot, 
and  I  want  to  go ;  but  no  more  weak  tea  and 
old  ladies  for  me." 

Mary  met  this  moment  of  rebellion  with  a 
certain  pleasure,  for  she  enjoyed  the  exercise 
of  her  power  over  him.  Hitherto  when  she 
turned  her  smiling,  arch,  and  subtle  face  upon 
him  he  had  yielded.  She  took  hold  of  his 
lapels  and  said :  "  Now,  you  old  bear,  don't 


252  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

you  get  cross!      You  are  going  just  once 
more  to  please  me." 

"  No,"  he  said,  and  his  voice  was  harsh. 
"  Right  here  the  men  in  calico  pants  and  me 
part  company.  I  Ve  kept  from  killin'  'em  so 
far,  but  I  'm  ugly  to-day.  You  'd  better  not 
bother  me.  I  'm  goin'  to  see  the  'Wild  West 
show  at  Earl's  Court." 

Mary  knew  when  to  yield.  "  Well,  if  you  're 
determined,  we  '11  cut  the  reception  and  go ; 
but  if  we  wait  till  to-morrow  Twombly  and 
Dr.  Robertson  may  be  able  to  go." 

"All  right.  That  goes.  I  '11  be  on  hand  like 
a  sore  thumb,"  he  replied,  and  turned  to  go. 

"Wait  a  few  minutes,"  said  Mary,  "and 
I  '11  drive  you  home." 

She  counted  on  being  able  to  regain  her 
power  over  him  when  they  were  seated  in  the 
carriage  ;  but  he  continued  firm. 

"  What  's  the  use  playing  tame  bear 
when  the  game  is  one-sided  ?  As  long  as  I 
enjoyed  it  we  broke  even.  Now  the  fun  is 
all  on  one  side,  like  the  handle  to  a  jug.  I  Ve 
got  a  sore  ear,  and  the  performance  is  a  good 
deal  like  work." 

"What  is  the  cause  of  your  sore  ear?" 
asked  Mary.  "  What  has  happened  ?  " 


JIM  RETURNS  TO  LONDON       253 

"I  Ve  had  to  send  to  Ramsdell  for  more 
money." 

She  was  instantly  sympathetic.  "  You 
must  n't  lack  money  so  long  as  we  are  part 
ners." 

"  I  guess  our  pardnership  is  a  kind  of  play- 
pardnership,"  he  replied  ungraciously. 

"  It  need  n't  be.  I  '11  take  my  shares  any 
time." 

"  I  can't  sell  you  stock,"  he  replied. 

"Why  not?" 

"  Because  it  would  n't  be  right,"  he  replied, 
and  would  add  no  further  explanation. 

She  put  him  down  at  his  door,  and  said 
with  her  sweetest  smile:  "To-morrow,  then, 
at  lunch,  and  Earl's  Court." 

"  I  '11  be  there ;  but  no  more  teas  and  recep 
tions,"  he  replied.  "  It 's  business  from  now 
on." 


XI 

THE*  EFFECT   OF   "SAVAGE  AFRICA" 

HE  turned  up  at  lunch  next  day,  still  in  a 
somber  mood,  and  Mary  put  forth  all  her 
charm  in  the  effort  to  win  him  back  to  his 
frank,  good  self,  but  failed.  He  continued 
silent  and  preoccupied.  Mrs.  Robertson  and 
Will  held  a  lively  discussion  of  South  African 
politics,  in  which  Mary  finally  joined,  leaving 
Jim  free  to  listen  or  not,  as  he  pleased.  He 
had  been  curiously  reticent  before,  but  nothing 
so  near  gloom. 

"  I  feel  like  a  man  missing  something,"  he 
explained  to  Mary.  "  I  don't  know  what  it 
is,  but  it 's  something  I  need." 

He  was  unpleasantly  censorious  of  England 
and  everything  English.  As  they  went  out 
to  the  carriage  he  said,  "  The  sun  blame  near 
makes  a  shadow  to-day,  don't  it?" 

"  The  shadow  is  on  you,"  replied  Mary.  "  I 
wish  I  could  help  you  to  shake  it  off." 

254 


THE  EFFECT   OF   "SAVAGE  AFRICA"      255 

He  kept  silence  all  the  way  to  Earl's  Court, 
and  not  till  he  caught  sight  of  the  brown  uni 
forms  and  gray  sombreros  of  the  Australian 
guards  on  duty  in  the  great  corridor  did  he 
shake  off  his  gloomy  meditation. 

"  Howdy,  boys,  howdy  !  "  he  called  to  them 
cheerily.  "  How  did  you  leave  the  folks  at 
home?"  The  Australians  recognized  a  fellow 
in  him,  and  smilingly  replied,  and  Jim  was 
benefited  by  their  replies.  "  By  the  Lord ! 
they  look  good  after  these  cussed  red  monkey- 
cap  soldiers  with  canes." 

"  I  hear  they  look  like  your  own  soldier- 
boys." 

"They  do;  they  look  righ t.  They  know 
how  it  is  themselves.  If  I  had  time,  I  'd  like 
to  shake  hands  with  'em  all."  He  contented 
himself  with  waving  his  hand  at  them  with  a 
hearty  word. 

As  he  ran  swiftly  through  the  "  Greater 
Britain "  exhibit,  Jim  became  thoughtful. 
"She  's  a  big  country,"  he  said;  "mighty 
big  and  rich.  She  just  about  covers  the  earth, 
don't  she?" 

Will  delivered  a  little  lecture  on  this  theme : 
"  Yes;  one  feels  the  width  of  the  Empire  here. 
Consider  the  names:  New  South  Wales, 


256  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

Ontario,  Columbia,  South  Africa,  Australia, 
India!" 

Jim  replied:  "It  's  queer.  I  don't  under 
stand  how  this  little  bog  of  an  island  got  hold 
of  all  these  countries.  She  's  got  to  use  'em 
mighty  well  or  they  won't  stay  by  her." 

"That 's  her  policy,"  said  Will. 

They  met  Twombly  and  Dr.  Robertson  at 
a  certain  booth,  and  together  they  crossed  a 
sort  of  bridge  and  entered  a  vast  auditorium, 
one  entire  side  of  which  was  covered  by  a 
curtain.  The  building  was,  in  fact,  a  mighty 
oblong  theater  with  a  lofty  arch,  the  stage  of 
which  was  a  sanded  acre  of  beaten  earth. 

Mary  was  careful  to  have  Jim  take  a  seat 
beside  her,  in  order  that  she  might  hear  every 
word  he  uttered,  and  have  the  pleasure  also 
of  his  near  glance.  Their  seats  were  the 
choicest  to  be  had,  being  close  down  to  the 
railing  of  the  arena,  and  they  were  much  ob 
served  by  the  occupants  of  the  near-by  seats. 
Of  this  scrutiny  Jim  was  the  main  cause,  but 
he  did  not  realize  it  as  he  stood  for  a  moment 
studying  the  audience.  "  People  are  plenty 
as  potato-bugs,"  he  remarked,  with  a  sigh. 
"  Must  be  as  many  people  here  as  there  are  in 
Wagon  Wheel  all  told," 


THE  EFFECT  OF   "SAVAGE  AFRICA"       257 

When  the  great  curtain  rose,  disclosing  a 
wide,  wild,  rocky,  barren  country,  the  moun 
taineer  sat  up  with  a  jerk.  "  By  the  Lord 
Harry  !  that  looks  like  Utah  !  "  he  said.  "All 
it  needs  is  a  little  sage-brush.  It  certainly 
looks  good  to  see  an  empty  space  for  a  minute. 
I  'm  seem'  too  many  people  this  trip." 

Loud  shouts  were  heard,  accompanied  by 
the  fierce  cracking  of  whips,  and  an  eight-span 
team  of  oxen  drawing  a  big  covered  wagon 
came  crawling  over  the  plain.  It  was  an 
immigrant- wagon  laden  with  household  goods 
and  speckled  with  children. 

"  Now  you  're  drifting  into  my  climate," 
exclaimed  Jim,  laying  a  hand  on  Will's  knee. 
"  That 's  a  prairie-schooner.  These  chaps  are 
striking  into  the  new  country." 

The  wagon  passed,  leaving  the  scene  as 
silent  and  lonely  as  before.  Then  arose  a 
distant  wild  singing,  "  Ille-a-eo-eo-aha  !  "  and 
two  hundred  powerful  black  men,  armed 
with  spears  and  shields,  and  adorned  with 
snow-white  plumes  and  gay  beads,  came 
marching  in,  their  deep  voices  rolling  in 
splendid,  rhythmic  waves  from  head  to  heel 
of  their  solemn  line  of  march. 

"That  's  like  the  chieftains'  song  among 
17 


258  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

the  Sioux ! "  Jim  explained,  in  growing  ex 
citement.  "  Great  Moses  !  but  they  make  my 
hair  bristle.  No  pink  teas  about  this  !  Their 
feet  are  on  the  earth." 

The  blacks  passed  on,  and  Jim  settled  back 
into  his  seat.  "This  is  queer  business.  It's 
a  mixture  of  a  Sioux  warrior's  song  and  a 
negro  camp-meeting.  Here  comes  the  boys  /  " 
he  shouted,  oblivious  of  every  other  spectator, 
his  eyes  aflame  with  exultation,  his  big  hands 
gripping  his  seat.  With  shrill  shouting,  two 
and  two,  a  troop  of  horsemen  galloped  in,  led 
by  a  middle-aged  man  who  sat  his  horse  in 
careless  serenity.  They  were  all  mounted  on 
tough,  brown  little  ponies,  not  unlike  the 
American  bronco;  but  their  saddles  were  low, 
without  pommels,  and  had  a  sort  of  pad  with 
ridges  running  along  the  thigh,  which  held 
each  leg  in  place. 

"They  're  trailin'  up  the  niggers,"  said 
Jim.  "  But  wait  a  minute  !  Some  of  these 
chaps  are  bogus.  They  're  London  runties. 
See  their  knees  all  hunched  up !  The  feller 
in  the  lead  is  right,  all  right.  See  the 
straight  leg?  See  the  way  he  guides  his 
horse?  He  knows  his  business.  But  about 
half  the  others  are  frauds;  they  can't  ride." 


THE  EFFECT   OF   "SAVAGE  AFRICA"        259 

As  the  men  dismounted  and  went  into  camp,  the 
mountaineer  turned  to  look  at  Mary,  his  eyes 
glowing,  his  lips  tremulous.  "  This  puts  me 
back  on  the  Pecos.  I  'm  homesick  right  now. 
I  'd  like  to  go  down  and  shake  hands  with 
the  cow-boss,  and  jump  a  horse  and  take  a 
hand  in  the  fight ;  he  's  my  kind."  He  took 
a  grip  on  Mary's  wrist.  "  Hold  me,  some 
body,  or  I  '11  jump  that  fence." 

His  heart  was  big  with  emotion,  and  his 
throat  ached  with  the  tension  of  it.  Every 
time  a  horse  made  a  fine  leap  or  a  rider 
swayed  in  his  saddle  with  the  free  balancing 
swing  of  the  natural  horseman,  he  cried  out 
like  a  boy : 

"That  's  right!  You  're  the  real  thing! 
You  've  handled  a  horse  before !  " 

Mary  and  Will  shared  very  little  in  his  ex 
citement.  How  could  they  ?  To  them  it  was 
amusing  merely.  To  Jim  it  was  elemental.  It 
suggested  the  open  spaces,  the  hardy  life  of 
cattle-men,  the  storm  of  stampeding  herds,  and 
long  rides  in  the  deep  of  night  over  the  plain. 
It  meant  everything  that  London  was  not :  all 
the  adventures  and  joys  of  mountain  life.  It 
brought  up  all  his  days  of  toil  and  danger  on 
the  trail,  with  a  hundred  camps  by  rushing 


260  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

mountain  streams.  It  subtended  the  life  he 
had  lived  and  loved,  and  to  which  he  was 
longing  to  return,  and  the  force  of  it  made 
Mary  of  little  account  and  England  a  dreary 
prison-place.  Had  he  been  in  love  with  the 
woman  at  his  side  and  in  bondage  to  London, 
the  memories  called  up  by  these  riders  would 
have  delivered  him. 

The  grizzled  old  veteran  of  the  Southern 
plains  rode  by  with  his  trained  horse,  a  su 
perb  animal,  and  as  he  whirled  and  saluted 
with  bare  head,  proudly  erect,  Jim  said : 
"There  's  a  man!  Nothing  the  matter  with 
him !  Your  dukes  and  earls  are  brindle 
broncos  by  the  side  of  a  thoroughbred  like 
him.  He  's  fit  to  ride  with  Black  Mose  and 
General  Miles." 

The  scene  changed  to  a  camp  beside  a  big 
river.  The  immigrants  were  just  hitching  up  to 
begin  another  day's  run,  when  a  detail  of  the 
black  fellows  came  charging  upon  them.  The 
cracking  of  guns  arose,  and  the  black  men  gave 
way.  The  immigrants  hurriedly  broke  camp. 
The  long  line  of  oxen  plunged  boldly  into 
the  river,  and,  with  nostrils  spouting  water, 
dragged  the  wagon  safely  through,  and  on 
through  a  rocky  defile  in  the  hills. 


THE  EFFECT  OF   "SAVAGE  AFRICA"        261 

There  was  much  significance  in  all  this  to 
Jim.  "  That 's  bad  business,"  he  said,  with  a 
sigh.  "  That  's  the  way  we  did  it  in  my 
country ;  only  the  men  we  tackled  were  red. 
I  reckon  these  blacks  are  fighting  for  their 
country  just  the  way  the  Sioux  did." 

The  scene  returned  to  the  camp  of  the 
blacks.  Uttering  their  splendid,  ululating 
chant,  they  filed  before  their  chief.  "  We  go 
to  fight  the  white  man  !  "  they  shouted  in  uni 
son.  "He  shall  die !  He  comes  to  steal  our 
lands  —  to  kill  our  babies.  He  must  be 
beaten  back  !  "  They  knelt  on  the  earth,  im 
ploring  the  help  of  the  High  Ones.  Their 
prayers  were  like  the  moaning  of  November 
winds  in  the  trees.  Their  naked  bodies  glis 
tened  like  oiled  ebony.  On  their  heads  were 
tufts  of  ostrich-plumes.  Great  bracelets  of 
silver  clasped  their  arms.  Their  decorated 
shields  were  of  bull's  hide,  and  their  short 
spears,  shaken  in  their  swarthy  right  hands, 
menaced  invisible  multitudes.  Pride  and  an 
epic  resolution  transfigured  their  dark  uplifted 
faces.  They  stood  as  the  representatives  of 
those  whom  civilization  conquers  and  destroys. 

They  passed  away,  and  into  the  arena  rode 
the  English  troops,  careless,  easy  of  seat, 


262  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

weary,  and  watchful.  The  captain  called  a 
halt.  The  bustle  of  camping  began.  A  shot 
was  heard  outside,  and  soon  a  rider  appeared, 
dragging  a  gigantic  negro  at  his  horse's  heels. 
The  black  was  a  scout,  and  was  brought  be 
fore  the  commander  in  order  to  be  forced  to 
tell  where  and  in  what  number  his  people  were 
camped.  He  refused  to  reply,  and,  with  mag 
nificent  defiance  of  death,  shouted :  "I  can 
die ;  I  will  not  speak  !  " 

The  commander  hesitated  about  torturing 
so  fine  a  man,  and  the  captive  was  led  away. 
Alarums  sounded  without.  The  blacks  rushed 
in,  armed  mainly  with  short  spears,  but  a  few 
carried  rifles.  Then  the  withering,  blasting, 
roaring  flame  of  the  machine-guns  was  turned 
upon  them,  and  they  fell  like  mown  grain. 
Again  and  again,  with  desperate,  tragic  cour 
age,  they  rushed  upon  the  British  line,  falling 
at  the  very  mouth  of  the  guns,  the  reports  of 
which  blended  into  a  long,  high-keyed,  crack 
ling,  appalling  roar.  The  auditors  shuddered, 
as  if  they  had  not  heretofore  realized  the  hor 
ror  which  lay  behind  the  quiet  description  of 
a  machine-gun.  The  process  of  civilizing 
the  earth  was  brought  near. 

"  Is  that  what  our  men  do  ?  "  asked  Mary. 


THE  EFFECT  OF   "SAVAGE  AFRICA"       263 

"  That 's  about  as  exact  as  they  can  repre 
sent  it,"  replied  Will.  "  The  blacks  were  brave 
men  ;  they  fell  inside  our  lines  just  that  way." 

"  Poor  fellows !  They  are  worthy  of  a  bet 
ter  fate.  They  are  patriots  in  their  way,  I 
suppose." 

"  It 's  a  hopeless  struggle,  and  the  machine- 
guns  went  far  to  teach  them  the  folly  of  try 
ing  to  hold  back  the  white  man,"  remarked 
Will,  as  the  black  men,  with  wailing  chants, 
gathered  up  their  dead  and  marched  away  into 
the  mountain  defiles. 

"  The  Apaches  were  too  sharp  to  fight  that 
way,"  said  Jim.  "They  did  n't  give  our  men 
a  chance  to  rake  'em  with  a  Maxim." 

But  beneath  all  other  feeling  on  Jim's  part 
ran  a  rising  tide  of  homesickness.  The  pic 
tured  peaks,  the  mimic  waterfalls,  the  canvas 
trees,  made  him  long  with  a  mighty  yearning 
for  the  realities  of  the  far-off  lands  he  called 
his  own.  As  this  emotion  grew  he  forgot  his 
companions  and  their  words ;  he  dreamed  like 
an  eagle  on  his  perch,  with  senses  filled  with 
old-time  sounds  and  scenes.  It  seemed  that 
he  had  been  away  from  home  a  full  year.  At 
the  moment  he  could  not  have  told  what  the 
season  was. 


264  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

He  was  singularly  silent  as  they  moved  out 
with  the  crowd  into  the  wide  halls.  His  face 
had  lost  all  its  laughter-lines,  and  looked  dark 
and  stern.  He  paid  no  attention  to  the  talk 
of  his  companions,  and  Mary,  eager  as  she 
was  to  hear  him  speak,  respected  his  mood. 
As  they  stood  for  a  moment  at  the  point 
where  the  great  hall  entered  upon  a  sort  of 
plaza  wherein  fountains  were  rushing,  they 
heard  the  black  men  singing  again.  They 
were  approaching.  The  noise  of  their  com 
ing  echoed  in  the  lofty  halls  as  in  a  cavern ; 
their  deep,  gusty  voices,  rolling  on  in  deep- 
toned  chant,  formed  a  flood  of  sound  each 
moment  growing  in  majesty.  Soon  they 
came  in  view,  with  spears  held  high  above 
their  heads,  their  bangles,  their  gay  shields, 
their  snowy  plumes,  transforming  the  glisten 
ing  ebony  of  their  splendid  bodies  into  some 
singular  and  beautiful  metal.  They  came  two 
abreast,  with  eyes  of  mystery,  dreaming  of 
their  native  hills,  and  their  song  arose  in  im 
pulses  and  moved  backward  as  waves  arise 
and  flee  and  break  on  dim  shores. 

As  they  passed  a  shudder  swept  over  Jim. 
"  Come! "  he  said  imperiously,  falling  in  behind 
the  column;  and  Mary  followed  without  a  word. 


THE  EFFECT   OF    "SAVAGE  AFRICA"       265 

The  negroes  entered  a  gate,  and  Jim,  ac 
companied  by  Mary,  found  himself  in  a  lofty 
amphitheater  of  painted  hills  —  the  hills  of 
Lobengula's  land.  In  the  middle  of  the 
inclosing  walls  stood  a  kraal  of  conical  mud 
teepees  such  as  geographies  had  made  famil 
iar  to  Jim.  On  the  painted  hills  other  simi 
lar  huts,  wondrously  real,  were  perched  beside 
bright  pools  and  foaming  waterfalls.  The 
land  was  deliciously  green  and  smooth.  Nar 
row  paths  ran  from  village  to  village.  High 
mountains  rose  on  all  sides,  and  the  whole 
glorious  valley  and  its  swarming  life  seemed 
serene  and  unmarked  of  war  or  greed.  Jim 
lifted  his  shoulders  and  drew  a  deep  breath. 
"  This  makes  me  think  I  'm  in  the  high  coun 
try,"  he  said. 

The  rest  of  the  party  joined  them  here,  but 
he  did  not  seem  to  see  them.  His  face  was 
lifted  to  the  peaks. 

As  he  stood  there  among  the  huts,  night 
began  to  fall.  Over  small  fires  women 
crouched,  preparing  food.  The  warriors, 
smoking  slowly,  sat  at  their  doors,  talking  in 
low  voices.  On  every  side  women  began  to 
croon  in  half-voice,  like  happy,  sleepy  fowls, 
and  the  murmur  of  soft  speech  was  broken 


266  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

only  by  the  sudden,  soft  laughter  of  young 
girls. 

Jim,  listening  to  this  flood  of  soft  sound, 
rose  on  it  as  on  an  invisible  wave.  The  mine, 
London,  Mary,  became  of  no  account.  Home, 
the  peaks,  the  clouds,  the  streams,  reasserted 
full  dominion  over  him.  "  To  hell  with  Lon 
don  ! "  he  said  through  his  set  teeth. 

Mary  laid  a  hand  on  his  arm.  "  Come, 
Jim ;  we  '11  be  late  to  dinner !  " 

He  turned  his  face  upon  her  with  a  look 
which  made  her  shiver  with  sudden  pain. 
"  I  'm  done  with  England  and  you.  I  'm  go 
ing  home.  Good  night !  " 

Without  another  word,  he  turned  on  his 
heel,  and  was  lost  in  the  crowd  and  the  dusk. 

Mary  stood  in  a  daze  till  Will  laid  his  hand 
on  her  arm.  "  Come,  sis,  it  's  time  to  go 
home.  Where  is  Jim  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  she  said,  a  sudden  deep 
weariness  in  her  voice. 

IT  was  nearly  twelve  o'clock  when  Jim 
reached  the  hotel,  and  he  was  tired.  He  had 
walked  all  the  way  from  Earl's  Court,  and 
had  lost  his  direction  a  dozen  times  in  his 
abstraction.  His  heart  was  very  bitter,  and 


THE  EFFECT  OF   "SAVAGE   AFRICA"        267 

he  said  :  "  They  have  been  fooling  with  me. 
It  was  all  right  for  a  while,  but  it  ends  right 
here.  Mary  has  had  her  fun  with  me,  but  I 
reckon  she  can't  have  any  more."  In  this 
mood  he  was  suspicious  of  everybody ;  every 
Englishman  was  his  enemy. 

The  clerk  handed  him  two  notes.  One  was 
from  Twombly,  the  other  from  Mary.  Twom- 
bly  was  anxious. 

Don't  leave  England  without  seeing  me  again.  I  think 
I  may  arrange  to  go  back  with  you  if  you  are  still  of  a 
mind  to  have  me.  .  .  . 

Mary's  was  abruptly  passionate : 

You  must  not  leave  me  in  this  way !  It  is  brutal !  Come 
and  see  me  again.  What  is  wrong  with  you  ?  What  have 
I  done  ?  Give  me  a  chance  to  set  myself  right  with  you. 
What  did  I  do  or  say  to  make  you  leave  us  so  abruptly  ? 
I  'm  scribbling  this  here,  with  brother  Will  waiting.  I 
can't  put  here  what  is  in  my  heart  to  say.  You  must  come 
for  a  good  talk.  You  are  a  great,  fresh,  bitter  wind  to  me. 
You  've  done  me  much  good :  you  've  restored  my  faith 
in  men;  you  've  made  me  love  the  lonely  mountains. 
Come  and  say  good-by  to  me  once  more  in  a  different 
spirit.  Yours,  MARY. 

"  I  reckon  the  boat  is  waiting  for  me,"  he 
said  grimly,  at  the  end  of  the  reading  of  this 


268  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

letter.  "  I  Ve  wasted  five  months  on  a  fool 
project.  I  'm  due  to  hit  the  back  trail  to 
morrow,  and  hit  it  hard  while  I  Ve  got  money 
enough  to  get  home  on." 


XII 
HOMEWARD   IN  THE  BIG  CANOE 

JIM  was  awake  at  daylight  the  next  morn 
ing,  and  set  to  work  sullenly  and  swiftly  to 
pack  his  trunk.  At  ten  o'clock  he  was  on  his 
way  to  Liverpool.  He  was  not  sure  that  he 
could  get  a  boat,  but  he  had  determined  to 
leave  London  at  all  costs.  Again  green  Eng 
land —  solemn,  silent,  and  empty  rural  Eng 
land  —  passed  before  his  eyes ;  but  this  time 
he  was  too  discouraged  and  too  deeply  moved 
to  observe  any  detail. 

He  felt  as  if  he  had  torn  himself  away  from 
something  very  sweet  and  beautiful,  and  this 
feeling,  combined  with  a  realizing  sense  of  his 
failure,  took  away  the  elation  which  would 
naturally  have  been  his  at  starting  out  to  re 
turn  to  the  West.  The  accent  of  the  people 
in  his  compartment  annoyed  him :  three  of 
them  were  plainly  London  "runties,"  who 
smoked  tobacco  which  should  have  cut  their 

269 


270  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

throats;  and  the  fourth  was  a  very  silent, 
moon-faced  individual,  who  opened  his  mouth 
to  speak  only  when  he  thrust  his  head  from 
the  window  and  called  to  the  guards :  "  Weer 
are  us  noo  ?  "  which  he  did  at  every  station. 

The  fifth  man  was  a  Scotsman,  and  his 
burring  tongue  at  last  helped  Jim  to  forget 
liis  bitter  failure.  The  small  cockneys  were 
contending  for  the  grandeur  of  Liverpool, 
while  the  Scotsman  defended  "  Glassgie "  as 
the  only  place  in  which  to  live.  Their  clamor 
was  genuinely  amusing.  Jim  took  a  hand  at 
last,  and  argued  that  the  only  place  to  live 
was  Wagon  Wheel  Gap. 

Itwas  raining  in  Liverpool,  andthe  sunshine- 
lover  was  miserable.  The  fast  boat  did  not 
go  till  the  next  day,  and  so  all  day  he  lounged 
about  his  hotel,  silent  and  sullen.  At  the  ear 
liest  moment  next  day  he  sought  the  steamer, 
and  boarded  her ;  and  so  weary  was  he  of  the 
city  and  the  rain,  and  so  homesick  for  the 
mountains,  he  felt  very  little  hate  of  the  boat. 
The  ugly  smells,  now  sickeningly  familiar, 
were  there,  but  the  interior  was  newer  and 
cleaner  in  all  ways  than  on  the  other  line. 
The  miner  spent  nearly  his  last  dollar  in  get 
ting  a  berth  where  little  motion  would  be  felt, 


HOMEWARD   IN   THE  BIG   CANOE  271 

and  was  quite  overawed  by  the  polished  cabi 
nets  and  the  fittings  of  the  room. 

"  Money  's  no  object  here,"  he  said  to  the 
purser.  "  If  there  's  a  cubby-hole  on  this 
boat  that 's  easier  for  a  seasick  man  than  an 
other,  I  want  it.  I  'm  going  into  solitary 
confinement  this  time,  if  I  don't  lay  up  a  cent. 
No  more  snoring  drummers  for  me." 

Again  he  stood  looking  down  on  the  bustle 
of  embarkation,  but  this  time  with  a  different 
feeling.  "  I  'm  going  home,  no  more  to  roam," 
kept  ringing  in  his  head,  and  he  could  not 
keep  out  the  rest  of  the  hymn,  "  No  more  to 
sin  and  sorrow."  The  thought  of  Mary  came 
circling  again  and  again  in  the  swirl  of  his 
thought,  and  always  with  a  sunny  radiance 
and  an  odor  of  flowers,  but  always,  too,  with 
a  subtle  pain  quite  beyond  his  analysis.  She 
was  the  one  sweet  and  sunny  place  in  all 
England  to  him. 

He  was  leaning  over  the  rail,  watching  the 
busy  porters  dimly,  but  thinking  of  Wynd- 
hurst,  when  he  caught  sight  of  Twombly  him 
self  stalking  majestically  up  the  gang-plank, 
attended  by  a  porter  or  two.  He  was  dressed 
in  a  gray-and-yellow  plaid  suit,  wore  a  cap 
with  two  "  bills,"  as  Jim  would  say,  and  car- 


272  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

ried  a  brown-and-green  shawl  over  his  arm. 
Altogether  he  made  a  stalwart  and  striking 
figure. 

When  Jim  met  him  at  the  top  of  the  plank, 
Twombly  grinned  a  little  sheepishly  and  said, 
"  I  turn  up,  you  see." 

"  I  'm  mighty  glad  to  see  you.  Are  you 
going  my  way  ?  " 

"  I  am  that,  provided  you  are  still  of  a  mind 
to  let  me  look  at  that  property." 

"  That  's  what  it  's  for ;  but  how  did  you 
happen  to  hit  on  this  boat  ?  " 

"  Oh,  Mary  told  me  you  had  planned  to 
board  the  fastest  steamer  on  your  return,  and 
so  I  assumed  you  'd  take  this  line." 

Twombly's  manner  toward  the  mountaineer 
had  undergone  great  change.  All  stiffness 
had  melted  away,  and  his  eyes  were  frank 
and  manly.  He  no  longer  affected  to  look  at 
Jim's  hat-rim  without  seeing  it.  He  entered 
upon  the  most  unreserved  good- comradeship 
at  once,  and  Jim  warmed  toward  him  without 
intending  to  do  so. 

"  I  say,  old  chap,"  Twombly  said  suddenly, 
"  you  left  Mary  and  the  rest  of  your  friends 
quite  cut  up  by  your  sudden  departure.  Here 
is  a  letter  intrusted  to  my  keeping."  He 


HOMEWARD   IN  THE  BIG   CANOE  273 

handed  Jim  a  letter  addressed  "James  Matte- 
son,  Esq.,"  and  the  handwriting  was  Mary's. 
Jim  took  it  and,  with  the  face  of  a  poker- 
player,  put  it  into  his  pocket.  Twombly 
searched  deeper. 

"  And  here  are  some  letters  handed  to  me 
by  the  clerk  at  your  hotel.  You  left  no  for 
warding  address,  you  know." 

Jim  pocketed  these  without  a  word,  and 
Twombly  turned  to  his  men.  "  Here,  porter, 
get  my  luggage  stowed  into  my  room.  The 
steward  will  show  you." 

When  he  turned  Jim  said:  "Well,  I  '11  tell  you 
how  it  was.  I  stood  the  climate  about  as  long 
as  I  could,  and  then  I  had  to  hit  the  back  trail 
or  go  plumb  twisted.  I  'm  sorry  they  feel  that 
way;  but  when  I  heard  them  blacks  a-singin', 
and  saw  their  camp-fires  sparkle,  I  just  nach- 
erly  had  to  pack  my  kit  and  hy-ak  kil-pi,  as 
the  Siwash  says.  I  'm  mighty  sorry,  but  that 's 
the  way  I  'm  made.  The  air  's  too  moist  for 
my  lungs.  Your  sun  's  too  pale.  You  're 
not  my  kind,  and  I  'm  not  yours.  That 's  the 
how  of  it." 

It  was  wonderful  to  see  how  thoroughly 
Twombly  made  himself  at  home  on  the  ship. 
Wherever  he  walked  porters  attended  him. 


18 


274  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

He  secured  the  snuggest  corner  on  deck  for 
his  chair,  and  the  best  seat  at  the  table,  and 
his  state-room  at  the  end  often  minutes  looked 
like  a  place  of  permanent  residence.  The 
tone  in  which  he  spoke  to  the  various  stew 
ards  gave  Jim  a  desire  to  kick  him,  and  yet 
he  liked  him  after  all,  and  in  spite  of  all. 

After  Twombly  left  him  the  miner  con 
tinued  to  lean  across  the  rail,  absorbed  in  the 
noise  and  movement  of  the  wharf.  His  long, 
strong  body,  grown  gaunt  during  his  days  of 
worry,  was  graceful  as  that  of  a  panther,  and 
his  profile,  clear  cut  as  the  stamp  on  a  coin, 
was  serene  and  cold.  He  had  lost  much  of 
his  tan  in  the  misty  light  of  England,  and  his 
strong,  lean  hands  were  without  sign  of  toil, 
and  yet  he  was  more  subtly  alien  than  ever. 
Girls  passing  looked  upon  him  with  admira 
tion  and  in  wonder  of  what  manner  of  man  he 
could  be. 

Though  so  serene  of  profile,  Jim  was  in 
wardly  a-quiver  with  impatience.  He  hoped 
each  flock  of  excited  passengers  would  be  the 
last  and  that  the  signal  for  departure  would 
sound.  He  did  not  care  to  read  his  letters 
till  the  boat  was  under  way.  He  was  done 
with  Mary  and  all  she  represented;  that  he 


HOMEWARD   IN   THE  BIG   CANOE  275: 

had  settled  in  the  long  hours  of  waiting  in 
Liverpool.  Whether  she  had  been  genu 
inely  interested  in  him  or  not  counted  for  lit 
tle  in  the  face  of  his  clear  realization  that 
he,  a  man  of  the  mountains,  could  not  ask  a 
woman  of  Mary's  life  and  temperament  to  for 
sake  her  own  and  follow  him.  As  for  Bessie 
—  well,  that  would  bear  thinking  about.  She 
was  closer  to  his  way  of  life.  If  the  mine 
panned  out  — 

The  stream  of  incoming  passengers  slack 
ened.  The  stewards  went  about  warning  all 
visitors  to  go  ashore.  All  about  him  he  saw 
people  embracing  one  another  in  fervent  fare 
wells.  Deep  down  in  the  monstrous  bulk  of 
the  boat  mysterious  noises  began,  as  though 
the  creature  were  trying  its  own  heart's  action. 
The  mountaineer  straightened  his  big  frame 
and  lifted  his  face.  The  throb  of  engines 
began,  and  the  rush  of  water  told  of  the  accel 
erating  motion  of  the  screws.  At  last  the 
great  vessel  began  to  move.  The  miner  was 
homeward  bound.  Lifting  his  broad-brimmed 
hat  from  his  head,  he  stood  for  an  instant 
bared;  then  he  waved  it  and  shouted,  "  Good- 
by ! "  Those  who  stood  near  him  at  the  rail 
thought  he  called  to  some  one  on  the  wharf, 


276  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

but  he  did  not.  His  good-by  was  addressed 
to  a  small,  fair  woman  in  London,  and  included 
a  relinquishment  of  all  the  complicated,  worri 
some  social  relations  which  she  represented. 
He  was  returning  to  the  simpler  ways  of  living 
among  the  tall  peaks  of  the  Uncompahgre. 

As  the  boat  felt  its  way  out  of  the  harbor 
the  mist  lifted  a  little,  and  Jim  caught  a  mo 
mentary  glimpse  of  rows  of  low  brick  houses, 
red  in  the  setting  sun ;  then  the  fog  rolled 
back,  and  he  left  England  as  he  had  found 
it,  dark  with  clouds.  With  a  feeling  of  exul 
tation  which  crowded  out  all  apprehension  of 
sickness,  he  went  below  to  read  his  letters.  • . 

He  opened  those  from  home  first.  One 
was  from  Mrs.  Ramsdell,  and  contained  a 
small  picture  of  Bessie,  which  Jim  looked  at  a 
long  time  before  going  on  with  the  text.  Mrs. 
Ramsdell  said  that  they  were  all  a  little  wor 
ried  about  him,  and  wished  to  see  him  return 
ing  soon.  "  We  realize  how  hard  it  is  to  sell 
mining  stock  just  now,  and  if  it  were  not  so 
dull  here  the  doctor  says  he  would  ask  you 
to  come  home  and  let  things  go.  He  is 
making  great  sacrifices  to  keep  the  men  at 
work.  I  inclose  a  proof  of  some  new  pictures 
Bessie  has  just  had  taken.  She  did  n't  want 


HOMEWARD   IN   THE   BIG   CANOE  277 

to  have  me  send  it,  but  I  thought  it  might 
serve  as  a  charm  to  keep  off  the  power  of 
some  pretty  English  girl.  We  talk  of  you 
every  day,  and  wonder  when  you  will  be  able 
to  start  back." 

Mary's  letter  was  unexpectedly  calm  and 
kindly.  He  was  not  in  a  mood  to  understand 
the  spirit  in  which  it  was  written. 

DEAR  JIM  :  I  hope  Mr.  Twombly  will  overtake  you  and 
hand  you  my  letter.  If  he  does  I  wish  you  would  write 
me  a  word  to  say  that  you  forgive  me  and  that  you  are 
not  angry  at  us.  I  know  you  think  we  were  "  having 
fun  "  with  you  ;  but  we  were  not — at  least,  not  after  we 
really  knew  you.  My  memory  of  your  visit  will  always  be 
a  grtat  joy  to  me  if  only  you  '11  write  and  say  that  you  do 
not  wholly  hate  and  despise  me.  I  am  horribly  lonesome 
to-day.  If  only  you  could  come  in  to  lunch !  Twombly 
thinks  you  have  had  news  of  a  "  strike  "  in  your  mine,  and 
is  suddenly  very  anxious  to  go  in  with  you.  This  is  for 
your  private  ear.  He  's  a  good  fellow,  and  I  do  hope 
you  '11  take  him  into  the  venture.  And,  remember,  I  want 
a  share  also  —  a  very  little,  but  enough  so  that  I  can  feel 
myself  your  partner. 

It 's  a  suffocating  thing  to  say  good-by,  Jim,  when  you 
know  it  is  good-by.  I  know  I  shall  never  see  you  again  • 
but  you  've  done  me  good,  and  every  thought  of  you  is 
wholesome  and  medicinal.  I  shall  always  think  of  you 
striding  up  the  trail  or  smoking  your  pipe  with  old  Ouray 
soaring  behind  you  and  the  Grizzly  Bear  roaring  in  the  canon. 
There  is  a  wild  side  to  my  nature,  so  that  I  can  understand 
you ;  but  you  are  not  tame  enough,  not  insane  enough,  to 


278  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

understand  me,  and  so  we  must  always  live  at  opposite 
poles  of  the  world.  When  you  die  they  '11  bury  you  on 
the  mountain- side,  where  it  is  lonely  of  humankind  and 
bright  with  sun,  where  the  winds  roar  in  the  pines.  When 
I  die  they  '11  put  me  into  ground  rotten  with  thousands 
of  others  like  me,  and  so  even  in  death  we  '11  be  set  as  far 
apart  as  the  width  of  the  world. 

It  was  a  comfort  to  me  that  you  seemed  to  understand 
that  man  whose  body  lies  buried  in  the  sands  of  Africa. 
It  is  time  to  seal  my  letter.  I  could  write  all  day  to  you, 
but  I  must  say 

Good-by  and  all  happiness. 

MARY. 

Jim  intently  read  and  re-read  this  letter. 
There  was  something  in  it  which  moved  him 
deeply,  yet  he  could  not  analyze  its  power. 
He  felt  dimly  the  woman's  love  for  her  dead 
hero,  but  her  attitude  toward  him  was  too  com 
plicated  for  his  ways  of  thinking.  In  the  end 
he  fastened  upon  one  dominant  note,  that  of 
her  loneliness,  and  set  to  work  to  answer  and 
assuage  that  pain. 

LITTLE  PARTNER:  Dont  you  worry  a  minute.  Im 
not  disgusted  about  anything  special  —  Im  not  mad  at 
you.  I  was  homesick,  thats  the  fact  about  it,  and  so 
I  just  naturally  jumped  the  whole  business.  I  like  you 
all,  but  youre  strangers  after  all.  I  dont  quite  savvy 
you.  Youre  not  my  people.  I  have  no  kick  coming. 
You  all  treated  me  white  —  mighty  white,  considering 


HOMEWARD   IN   THE  BIG   CANOE  279 

what  an  old  lahoo  I  am  anyway.  Id  no  business  to  get 
into  your  country ;  its  like  a  caribou  wandering  into  the 
buffalo-grass  country:  he  can  live,  but  he  aint  happy. 
I  was  pretty  lonesome  myself  yesterday  waiting  for  the 
boat,  but  Im  all  right  to-day,  for  Im  going  back.  Im 
aiming  for  old  Ouray,  and  if  we  dont  blow  out  a  cylinder- 
head  or  bust  a  knee  111  see  the  snow-peaks  again  in  ten 
days.  Im  mighty  sorry  youre  not  going  along,  but  I 
reckon  youre  right.  Colora'dos  a  little  too  far  from 
London  and  the  air  a  little  chilly  for  you.  Yes,  I  reckon 
its  good-by  —  except  when  I  hear  from  you  in  a  letter. 
Anyhow,  Im  much  obliged  for  all  you  did  for  me.  I 
wont  forget  it,  not  in  a  thousand  years.  You  certainly 
made  London  a  mighty  sight  cheerfuller  for  me  by  being 
in  it.  Yours  respectfly, 

JIM  MATTESON. 


XIII 

THE  LITTLE   GIRL  IN  ASPEN  PARK 

HAPPILY  Jim's  return  voyage  was  less 
painful  than  his  going.  He  was  sick  only 
two  days ;  and  yet  he  was  never  quite  well, 
and  never  happy.  The  feeling  of  insecurity, 
of  being  suspended  in  the  air,  never  quite  left 
him.  He  ate,  but  took  no  pleasure  in  it. 
"  I  go  through  the  motions ;  but  it  ain't  eatin' : 
it  's  just  coalin'  up,"  he  said. 

He  was  much  touched  when  at  Queens- 
town  he  received  a  telegram  signed  "  Mary 
and  Will,"  wishing  him  "  a  good  voyage  and  a 
pot  of  gold  at  the  end  of  every  rainbow  ";  but 
he  did  not  attempt  to  reply  to  it.  His  eyes 
were  on  the  western  sky. 

The  weather  was  cold  and  cloudy,  but  the 
sea  was  smooth,  and  Jim  took  a  hand  in 
throwing  rings  at  a  peg,  and  also  at  shovel- 
board,  which  Twombly  played  from  morning 
till  night  if  he  could  induce  any  one  to  keep 

280 


THE   LITTLE   GIRL   IN   ASPEN   PARK         281 

him  company.  As  for  the  gambling  of  the 
smoking-room,  Jim  kept  out  of  that  for  lack 
of  funds,  much  as  he  would  have  liked  to 
throw  a  card.  He  had  barely  money  enough 
to  carry  him  to  Chicago,  and  he  did  not  care 
to  be  under  obligations  to  the  Englishman. 

Twombly  was  willing  to  spend  hours  in 
discussing  the  mine,  now  that  he  was  fairly 
off;  but  he  was  cautious  of  even  half-promises, 
and  Jim,  being  bored  and  irritated,  refused  to 
go  over  the  ground  a  second  time.  "  There  's 
the  mine.  You  can  have  an  option  on  a 
quarter-interest  at  fifty  thousand  by  pay 
ing  me  five  thousand  dollars  now,  or  take 
your  chances  after  examining  it.  After  we 
reach  New  York  the  whole  business  may  take 
a  flirt.  The  doc  may  or  may  not  take  your 
offer." 

"  I  think  I  '11  wait  till  I  see  the  mine." 
"  Suit  yourself,"  Jim  carelessly  replied, 
though  he  knew  that  his  trip  was  a  dismal 
failure  unless  the  Englishman  came  in.  He 
did  not  know  that  the  cautious  Twombly  had 
already  in  his  pocket  a  favorable  report  of  the 
mine  from  a  friend  in  Denver.  The  boat 
entered  a  rolling  sea,  and  Jim  talked  no  more 
on  any  topic  for  three  days. 


282  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

As  the  gray-green  vastness  of  the  ocean 
slipped  away  day  by  day,  his  mind  regained 
tone,  and  his  words  began  to  smack  of  the 
pines  and  the  country  rock  again.  The 
boat  running  smoothly  enabled  him  to  al 
most  enjoy  sailing,  and  the  near  prospect 
of  landing  excited  him  to  the  point  of  singing. 
He  woke  one  night  with  a  sudden  thrill  of  joy. 
The  boat  was  at  anchor !  Dressing  hurriedly, 
he  went  on  deck,  expecting  to  see  the  lights 
of  New  York ;  but  all  was  blackness  and  si 
lence.  The  boat  had  stopped  to  repair  an 
engine.  He  returned  to  his  berth  raging  at 
the  loss  of  time. 

It  was  early  on  the  last  day  of  July  when 
the  outlook  sighted  the  Statue  of  Liberty,  and 
as  the  majestic,  generous  New  York  harbor 
opened  out  to  receive  his  ship  the  mountaineer 
felt  something  hot  surge  round  his  heart,  and 
his  breath  quickened.  He  took  oft  his  hat  to 
New  York.  It  was  the  gate  to  America,  after 
all,  and  the  greatest  American  city  —  less  dis 
tinctive  than  Denver  to  him,  but  nevertheless 
American,  and  he  was  glad  of  any  beauty 
or  grandeur  it  might  possess.  Besides,  he 
was  weary  of  the  sea  and  eager  for  the 
land. 


THE  LITTLE   GIRL  IN  ASPEN   PARK        283 

"  Right  here  I  quit,"  he  said.  "  Hereafter, 
when  I  feel  like  a  sea- voyage,  I  '11  go  to  jail 
with  a  good  ripe  rain -barrel." 

Twombly  was  astonished  by  what  he  saw. 
"  I  say,  now,  this  is  magnificent !  There  's 
nothing  finer  anywhere.  No  wonder  you  are 
proud  of  New  York."  The  glittering  bay, 
with  its  crawling  tugs,  its  lazily  moving  steam 
ers,  its  loitering  sailing-vessels,  appealed  to 
the  Englishman  with  all  the  greater  force  by 
reason  of  its  unexpected  largeness.  "  Nature 
has  been  kind  to  New  York,  you  know. 
Think  of  Paris  with  her  small  Seine,  and  Lon 
don  with  her  Thames.  I  wonder  you  've 
not  said  more  about  this  great  city." 

Jim  looked  uneasy.  "  Well,  you  see,  we 
fellers  in  the  West  are  a  little  leery  of  New 
York.  She  's  too  much  of  a  money  power  to 
suit  us.  She  's  too  selfish  and  overbearing 
accordin'  to  our  notion.  She  's  big  and  fine, 
sure  thing;  but  she  's  after  the  dollar,  all 
right.  Wants  it  a  good  dollar  too,  which 
makes  the  West  extra  hot  under  the  collar 
just  now." 

"Ah,  yes;  I  Ve  heard  something  about  that: 
but  I  don't  understand  that  silver  controversy, 
y'  know." 


284  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"Well,  I  can't  say  I  do;  but  I  kind  o'  'sit 
in '  with  the  boys  out  West,  although  I  'm  a 
gold-miner  and  nacherly — " 

A  cannon-shot  breaking  from  a  near-by 
point  of  land  interrupted  him;  and  then,  as  the 
gay  flag  of  the  Republic  went  aloft  on  its 
high  mast  like  a  wind-blown  rose,  Jim's  heart 
leaped,  and  a  sudden  singular  contraction 
came  into  his  throat.  "There  she  rises  —  the 
prettiest  flag  afloat ! "  he  said  to  the  English 
man. 

"  I  suppose  every  nation  thinks  the  same 
of  its  own  standard,"  said  Twombly. 

"Well,  we  don't  think;  we  know  it!"  re 
plied  Jim,  inclined  to  be  insistent  at  the 
moment.  "  She  's  pretty  as  the  face  of  a 
girl." 

As  the  big  boat  crept  slowly  up  the  nar 
rowing  harbor  Twombly  expressed  a  growing 
disappointment  in  the  look  of  the  city.  "  It 's 
immense!"  he  said.  "But  what  a  ragged 
sky-line !  Not  without  impressiveness,"  he 
added  thoughtfully.  "  It  seems  to  me  very 
American,  though  I  know  you  consider  it  quite 
European.  Those  tall  buildings,  now  —  " 

Jim  was  thinking  of  trains,  and  paid  little 
attention  to  the  big  Englishman,  who  mopped 


THE  LITTLE  GIRL  IN  ASPEN   PARK        285 

his  neck  and  cried  out  against  the  increasing 
heat.  To  most  of  his  questions  concerning 
the  city  Jim  could  only  acknowledge  igno 
rance.  At  last  he  said: 

"  Now  see  here ;  I  can  tell  you  all  about 
the  mountains  from  Sierra  Blanca  to  the  Grin- 
nell  Glacier,  but  New  York  is  new  country 
to  me.  I  camped  here  just  one  night,  and 
was  mighty  glad  to  get  away  with  my  shirt 
on.  I  don't  want  any  more  city  in  mine.  I 
think  about  three  hours  will  do  me  this  trip. 
I  climb  the  first  good  train  that  gets  out  for 
the  West." 

To  go  from  the  boat  to  the  city  streets  was 
like  stepping  from  March  into  August.  The 
morning  was  murky  and  still  and  damp,  and 
the  clamor  of  teamsters  and  fruit- sellers,  the 
hot  stenches  of  the  alleys  and  the  oppressive 
crowds,  took  away  a  large  part  of  Jim's  new 
born  love  for  the  East. 

"  I  reckon  about  one  hour  of  this  swamp 
will  do  me,"  he  said  to  Twombly.  "I  'm 
climbin'  for  high  country  these  days.  I  'd 
jump  clear  over  Chicago  if  I  could,  and  if  it 
were  n't  for  the  folks  in  Aspen  Park." 

Twombly  was  much  disturbed  at  this  haste. 
"  Oh,  I  say  now,  Matteson,  this  won't  do.  I 


286  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

want  to  see  a  little  of  New  York.  Can't  you 
stop  over  a  couple  of  days  ?  " 

"  Not  a  minute,"  Jim  grimly  replied.  "  I  'm 
on  the  home  stretch  now,  and  you  could  n't 
switch  me  off  on  a  bear  track." 

Twombly,  who  did  not  care  to  be  left 
behind,  stood  on  the  stern  of  the  ferry-boat 
and  sorrowfully  looked  back  at  the  great  row 
of  mysterious  buildings.  "  It  looks  uncom 
monly  interesting,"  he  said  at  last;  "but  I  '11 
have  a  look  at  it  as  I  return." 

"  All  right.  Drive  your  stakes  here  if  you 
want  to;  but  my  name  is  Colorado  Jim,  and 
I  'm  going  home." 

He  fairly  dragged  Twombly  from  the  boat 
and  on  through  the  waiting-room  to  the  ticket- 
window.  Not  till  the  tickets  were  purchased 
and  their  trunks  checked  did  he  permit  him 
self  a  moment  in  which  to  think  of  other 
things. 

"There,  now,"  he  said;  "we  have  nothing 
to  do  but  wait  till  the  whistle  blows." 

"  How  soon  does  it  blow  ?  " 

"At  one,  according  to  the  man  in  the  box." 

Twombly  looked  at  his  watch.  "It 's  only 
half  after  ten.  Suppose  we  take  a  turn  about 
the  city." 


THE  LITTLE  GIRL  IN  ASPEN   PARK        287 

"  Not  for  a  half  o'  hog.  I  'm  keeping  my 
eye  on  that  hired  man  at  the  gate.  When  he 
opens  it  a  half  a  link  I  get  away.  I  'm  not 
curious  about  things.  I  'm  just  in  a  hurry  to 
see  familiar  grass." 

Jim  had  another  reason  for  hurry,  and  that 
was  —  Bessie.  America  and  home  began 
where  she  stood  to  welcome  him ;  the  other 
thousands  of  miles  of  town  and  country  were 
merely  part  of  his  foreign  travels.  There  was 
a  restlessness  in  his  brain,  a  gnawing  hurry 
in  his  heart  quite  new  to  him.  Whenever  the 
words  "Colorado"  or  "Denver"  caught  his 
eye  on  time-tables  or  posters  he  experienced  a 
curious  warming  of  the  heart,  and  this  emotion 
included  the  girl  at  Chicago.  Mary  was 
receding  into  the  past ;  Bessie  was  drawing 
near.  The  sea,  with  all  its  glooms  and  un- 
retraceable  terrors,  rolled  between  Mary  and 
his  thought;  but  the  little  girl  in  Aspen 
Park  was  almost  within  reach  of  his  hand. 

He  had  filled  his  pockets  with  folders  of 
the  Western  railways,  and  amused  himself 
and  instructed  Twombly  by  looking  up  the 
time-tables.  Twombly  was  rather  better  in 
structed  than  most  Englishmen  in  the  vast 
distances  of  the  United  States,  but  he  was 


288  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

properly  astonished  to  find  Denver  more  than 
a  thousand  miles  west  of  Chicago. 

It  was  a  long  wait,  but  Jim  had  the  patience 
of  a  man  of  the  wilderness;  and  while  Twombly 
wandered  about  the  station  and  read  the  plac 
ards  on  the  wall  and  chaffered  the  newsman, 
the  mountaineer  sat  almost  immovably  in  a 
seat  not  far  from  the  door.  He  refused  to 
go  to  lunch  for  fear  of  overstaying  the  time ; 
and  when  the  crier  announced  his  train,  he 
sprang  to  his  feet,  and  remorselessly  made 
for  the  door  with  Twombly's  bag.  The  Eng 
lishman  was  just  returning  from  the  cafe,  and 
was  able  to  follow  his  guide  closely. 

Jim  began  to  brag  a  little  as  they  entered 
the  train.  "  There,  I  call  these  cars  ;  they  're 
no  stage-coaches  tacked  end  for  end." 

Twombly  now  took  the  attitude  of  critic. 
"  I  object  to  having  the  passengers  all  thrown 
together  in  this  way.  It 's  too  common  —  too 
promiscuous,  y'  know.  I  'd  rather  have  a 
separate  compartment.  You  don't  want  to 
be  exposed  to  the  talk  of  the  yokels  in  this 
way,  really." 

"  Oh,  you  're  too  blank  highfalutin,"  said 
Jim.  "  You  must  n't  take  any  of  that  out 
to  Wagon  Wheel.  Your  life  would  n't  be 


THE  LITTLE  GIRL   IN  ASPEN   PARK        289 

worth  a  leatherette  if  you  tried  to  draw  lines 
on  the  '  yokels '  out  there." 

Twombly  had  a  notion  Jim  was  venting  his 
high  spirits  on  him,  and  did  not  reply ;  and 
as  the  train  moved  out  soon,  they  had  other 
things  to  think  of. 

"  What  an  extraordinary  country ! "  said 
Twombly  once  or  twice  each  hour.  "  What 
State  is  this  ?  " 

"New  Jersey,  I  reckon  —  one  of  the  old 
States." 

"Is  Colorado  at  all  like  this  ?  " 

Jim  smiled.  "Well,  not  enough  to  hurt. 
Colorado  is  all  kinds  of  a  country  except  this. 
The  most  of  it  is  a  plumb  mile  nearer  the  sky 
than  that  hill,  and  the  rest  of  it  is  three." 

"  Upon  my  word !  How  soon  do  we  reach 
Chicago  ?  " 

"  To-morrow  afternoon,  if  nothing  happens." 

"  Moving  at  this  speed  ?  It 's  like  going 
from  Paris  to  Moscow.  It  is  a  big  country — 
like  Russia." 

"  Big  ain't  no  name  for  it.  Wait  till  you 
hit  the  slope  on  a  Santa  Fee  '  Overland  Flier.' 
You  '11  think  all  outdoors  is  lined  up  and 
going  East." 

At  six  Jim  led  the  way  into  the  dining-car 


290  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

with  the  air  of  a  man  on  a  familiar  trail,  and 
enjoyed  the  Englishman's  amazement  and 
pleasure.  "  This  is  what  I  call  a  dining-car. 
Your  narrow  lunch-counters  and  little  '  corri 
dor-cars  '  are  fitten  to  make  a  sheep  laugh." 

Twombly  endured  all  this  brag  with  very 
good  grace,  and  admitted  that  England  was 
"behind  America  in  some  things." 

As  he  sobered  down  a  little,  Jim  ceased  to 
be  so  disagreeably  boastful,  and  admitted 
that  the  sleeping-cars  were  stuffy,  and  that 
their  publicity  might  be  distressing  to  ladies 
not  accustomed  to  them.  Twombly,  on  his 
part,  conceded  that  no  one  could  undertake 
these  long  distances  without  some  such  plan 
of  accommodation. 

In  the  morning  the  Englishman,  being  up 
early,  had  the  whole  smoking-room  and  all 
the  wash-stands  to  himself,  and  was  enthu 
siastic.  "  Really,  now,  this  is  unexpected 
good  fortune.  It  is  quite  like  a  moving 
hotel.  But  the  country  seems  unkempt,"  he 
added,  looking  out  of  the  window. 

Jim  studied  it  meditatively.  "  Does  look 
kind  o'  laid  out  for  the  wash,  don't  it  ?  " 

"  What  State  is  this  ?  " 

"  I  put  this  up  for  Ohio." 


THE  LITTLE   GIRL  IN   ASPEN   PARK        291 

"  Are  we  in  the  West  now  ?  " 

"  No ;  we  don't  hit  the  West  till  we  begin 
to  climb  the  slope  a  day  and  a  night  out  of 
Chicago.  We  consider  Chicago  in  the  East, 
and  New  York  next  door  to  England." 

The  gathered  grain  standing  in  the  shock, 
the  portly  ricks  of  hay,  the  busy  teams,  the 
little  wooden  towns,  the  roomy  trains,  the 
enormous  engines,  the  absence  of  women  and 
old  men  in  the  fields,  the  free-and-easy  man 
ner  of  the  train-hands,  all  came  in  for  remark 
from  Twombly ;  and  as  he  slowly  talked  of  it 
all,  the  Colorado  mountaineer  began  to  feel  a 
singular  affection  for  Ohio  and  Indiana.  His 
point  of  view  had  changed.  From  his  high 
place  in  the  mountains  he  had  always  looked 
back  over  these  Eastern  States  as  slow-going 
communities  from  which  some  good  raw  ma 
terial  for  cow-boys  occasionally  came.  Now 
he  began  to  feel  that  America  meant  not 
merely  the  mountain  country  and  the  cities 
he  knew,  but  all  the  cities  and  all  the  States. 
He  rose  on  the  surge  of  a  patriotic  emotion 
which  lifted  him  above  all  sectional  differences, 
all  warring  political  ideals,  to  a  conception  of 
the  dignity  and  promise  of  his  country  which 
made  him  feel  a  pride  in  every  pretty  girl  and 


292  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

every  fine  field  he  saw.  He  acknowledged 
a  kinship  with  every  youth  toiling  in  the 
fields.  In  the  glow  of  this  emotion  Mary 
became  as  insubstantial  as  a  wreath  of  smoke. 
Correspondingly,  from  the  moment  he  set 
foot  on  shore  Bessie  grew  in  importance  to 
him.  She  was  akin  someway  to  all  that  he 
found  sweet  and  wholesome  in  American  life. 
As  Mary  passed  out  of  his  life  the  little  girl 
in  Aspen  Park  assumed  immensest  value. 
She  stood  again  in  the  light  of  a  possible 
wife.  She  was  realizable,  tangible. 

In  the  long  hours  of  the  journey  he  per 
mitted  his  mind  to  follow  out  the  leadings  of 
a  shining,  beckoning  hand.  If  the  mine  yielded 
certain  results  and  "she"  (the  girl)  continued 
to  be  interested  in  him,  he  would  build  a  house 
in  Wagon  Wheel  for  summer,  and  one  in 
Sweet  Water  Springs  for  winter.  He  could 
come  and  go  between  the  mine  and  home. 

Home  !  His  heart  grew  warm  with  the 
word.  Since  thirteen  years  of  age  he  had 
never  known  a  home ;  he  had  only  camped. 
His  boyhood  had  been  one  of  toil  and  weari 
ness,  and  the  house  in  which  his  mother 
walked  her  ceaseless  round  of  toil  had  been 
small  and  graceless.  A  bed  in  the  garret  at 


THE  LITTLE   GIRL  IN   ASPEN   PARK        293 

home,  a  bunk  in  a  cow-camp,  a  blanket  and  a 
"  purp"-tent — these  had  made  up  for  the  most 
part  his  home  comforts.  He  had  never  com 
plained,  and  had  not  given  much  thought  to 
anything  better  than  board  at  a  hotel  till  after 
meeting  Bessie  and  Mrs.  Ramsdell  in  their 
lovely  cottage.  Now  his  ambition  was  to  own 
a  house  as  good  as  Ramsdell's. 

Meanwhile  Twombly  was  full  of  talk,  and 
his  reflections  on  the  country  were  a  heavy 
strain  on  the  mountaineer,  who  wished  to 
spend  his  time  in  mapping  out  a  course  of 
action  toward  winning  a  timid  young  girl. 
Jim's  replies  became  each  time  more  dis 
tinctly  curt,  and  at  last  he  said,  with  con 
siderable  irritation : 

"Just  bottle  up  your  questions  till  you 
strike  the  doc,  and  you  '11  get  a  whole  car-load 
of  information.  What  he  don't  know  would 
go  into  a  hat.  I  never  saw  his  beat.  He 
used  to  lecture  to  me  every  night  in  the 
mountains  on  how  the  rocks  was  laid  down, 
and  how  the  rivers  got  into  the  cracks,  and 
about  the  stars,  and  all  that,  till  I  was  plumb 
locoed  with  it.  Now,  I  was  raised  in  Mis 
souri  and  Kansas.  I  went  to  school  till  I  was 
thirteen  at  the  district  school,  and  one  winter 


294  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

at  the  graded  school  at  Sunflower  when  I 
was  fourteen.  Right  there  I  quit.  After 
that  all  I  got  I  picked  up  along  the  trail.  So 
don't  you  size  me  up  as  a  professor  or  a 
leather-bound  history ;  for  if  you  do  you  '11 
fall  right  down." 

Thereafter  Twombly  spared  him. 

At  last  the  low  sand-dunes  which  mark  the 
ancient  site  of  Lake  Michigan  came  into  view, 
and  other  trains  spinning  round  on  parallel 
curves,  under  great  columns  of  black  smoke, 
told  that  Chicago  was  near.  Jim  was  again 
tense  with  excitement,  and  pointing  out  a 
freight-car  marked  "Denver  and  Rio  Grande," 
said,  "We  're  getting  home." 

"What  a  grimy  country;  but  what  a  sky!  " 
Twombly  exclaimed  at  South  Chicago.  "It  is 
like  Algiers.  Are  these  the  prairies  ?  "  he 
asked,  looking  out  over  the  marshes. 

"  Not  yet,"  replied  Jim.  "  You  won't  see 
the  prairies  till  we  strike  out  from  Chicago 
to-morrow.  These  are  only  low  flat  lands." 

Slowly  the  monstrous  engine  felt  its  way 
through  the  tangle  of  streets,  under  hovering 
clouds  of  vapor,  and  at  last  drew  into  the 
great  shed,  where  it  stood  breathing  heavily, 
like  a  horse  too  tired  to  do  more  than  wait 


THE  LITTLE  GIRL   IN  ASPEN  PARK        295 

with  heaving  sides  and  drooping  head  for  the 
harness  to  be  removed.  Jim,  who  had  been 
restlessly  walking  the  aisles  for  a  good  half- 
hour,  seized  Twombly  by  the  shoulder. 

"  Come  on,  colonel ;  here  's  where  we  con 
nect  with  the  West." 

Followed  by  Twombly  and  the  porter,  Jim 
hurried  toward  the  big  iron  grating  which 
shut  his  waiting  friends  from  him.  His  keen 
eyes  distinguished  Bessie  standing  beside  the 
doctor's  shoulder.  His  heart  warmed  mightily 
toward  them  all,  and  he  waved  his  big  hat  in 
greeting. 

Leaving  Mrs.  Ramsdell  and  Bessie  outside, 
the  doctor  charged  through  the  crowd,  and 
clapped  his  partner  on  the  shoulder.  "  Hello, 
old  man  !  How  are  you  ?  " 

"  I  'm  all  right.  How  are  you —  and  the 
folks?" 

"  Never  better.     Give  me  your  valise." 

The  mountaineer  was  astonished  to  find 
his  breath  rather  short  as  he  faced  the  slim 
little  girl  outside,  and  for  a  few  moments  he 
was  not  quite  able  to  command  his  lips.  He 
thrust  out  his  hand  to  her  first  of  all,  with  a 
few  words  which  she  could  not  understand. 
She  shook  hands,  but  drew  away  a  little.  He 


296  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

turned  to  Mrs.  Ramsdell,  who  was  smilingly 
studying  him. 

"  You  Ve  lost  your  good,  brown  com 
plexion,"  she  said.  "  You  stayed  so  long  we 
were  afraid  you  were  not  coming  back  at  all." 

Jim's  brain  suddenly  cleared.  "  Little  old 
America  is  good  enough  for  me,"  he  said, 
and  turned  to  Bessie  as  he  spoke. 

She  looked  older  and  less  girlish  to  him, 
and  her  voice  was  cold  as  she  said:  "You 
must  have  had  a  wonderful  time." 

"  I  had  the  time  of  my  life,"  he  replied,  in  a 
tone  which  they  could  not  understand.  He 
turned  to  Twombly,  who  stood  waiting. 
"  Folks,  this  is  the  Mr.  Twombly  I  wrote 
about.  He  's  our  '  woodchuck.' ': 

Ramsdell  shook  hands.  "  I  'm  glad  to  meet 
you,  Mr.  Twombly,  even  if  you  don't  fill  our 
pot." 

"  He  's  the  best  I  could  do,"  said  Jim. 

Twombly  gallantly  tried  to  enter  into  the 
joke.  "  I  can  testify  to  the  loyalty  of  your 
partner,  Dr.  Ramsdell,"  he  said.  "  He  is 
vastly  persuasive." 

Ramsdell  then  introduced  the  Englishman 
to  the  two  ladies,  and  they  all  moved  out 
into  the  waiting-room.  Jim  perceived  a  sub- 


THE  LITTLE  GIRL  IN  ASPEN   PARK        297 

tie  change  in  Bessie.  She  made  no  opportu 
nities  to  speak  to  him  as  she  had  done  before. 
She  seemed  rather  to  avoid  him,  and  ap 
peared  taller  and  paler,  and  more  self-re 
strained  than  when  he  had  last  seen  her. 

Ramsdell  led  the  way  to  the  side  door, 
where  his  two-seated  yellow  runabout  stood 
waiting.  Jim's  telegram  had  not  mentioned 
Twombly,  but  he  said : 

"  You  're  to  go  right  home  with  us." 

Twombly  protested :  "I  can  see  you-  did 
not  expect  me.  I  beg  you  will  allow  me  to 
go  to  a  hotel." 

"  By  no  means,"  said  the  doctor.  "  If  we 
are  to  do  business  together  we  must  move 
quickly,  and  to  be  on  the  spot  to-night  is 
essential." 

Twombly  consented,  but  more  on  account 
of  the  women,  whom  he  admired  very  much, 
than  on  account  of  the  mine. 

Being  mindful  of  his  partner,  the  doctor 
took  charge  of  matters  at  the  carriage.  "  Mr. 
Twombly,  you  take  a  seat  in  the  back  with 
my  wife ;  and,  Jim,  you  '11  be  obliged  to  sit  be 
side  Bessie.  I  know  you  hate  it,  but  there  's 
no  help  for  it.  I  '11  take  a  trolley  car  and 
beat  you  all  home." 


298  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

Bessie  could  not  object  to  this,  and  as  Mrs. 
Ramsdell  carefully  absorbed  all  of  Twombly's 
attention,  the  two  young  people  were  left  to 
themselves  on  the  seat  next  the  driver. 

Bessie  spoke  first. 

"  I  'm  so  anxious  to  hear  the  story  of  your 
trip.  I  hope  you  are  going  to  tell  us  all 
about  it." 

Her  words  were  right,  but  her  tone  was 
merely  polite. 

"  It  was  n't  much,"  he  replied.  "  The  main 
thing  is  I  collared  the  Earl." 

Her  face  lighted  up  a  little. 

"  Is  he  an  earl  ? "  she  whispered,  leaning 
toward  him. 

Jim  was  so  taken  up  with  the  faint  touch 
of  her  breath  on  his  ear  that  he  fairly  stam 
mered. 

"Well — no;  you  see  —  I  call  him  that  for 
fun.  He  's  just  a  plain,  every-day  engineer. 
He  's  interested  in  drain-pipes."  He  turned 
toward  her  as  he  said:  "I  was  mighty  glad 
to  get  your  letters.  It  was  sure  a  blue  trip 
for  me  in  London,  and  I  was  glad  to  hear 
from  home." 

"  You  did  n't  show  it  very  much  in  your 
answers,"  she  said,  with  a  sudden  change  of 


THE  LITTLE  GIRL  IN  ASPEN   PARK        299 

tone.  There  was  a  little  silence.  "  Were  you 
sick  coming  back  ?  "  she  asked  indifferently. 

"  Sick  !  Yes,  of  course  I  was  sick.  Had 
two  meals — one  off  the  coast  of  Ireland,  the 
other  when  I  sighted  the  Statue  of  Liberty. 
Oh,  I  'm  a  prize  sailor !  I  told  doc  before  I 
went  it  would  bust  my  constitution.  It  did, 
and  I  'm  going  to  lay  claim  to  damages." 

"  You  don't  look  so  nice  and  brown  as  you 
did.  London  has  spoiled  you,"  she  said,  with 
a  touch  of  audacity.  "We  hear  you  became 
a  great  society  man  over  there." 

"  Who  told  you  that  ?  " 

"  Oh,  we  heard  all  about  it.  We  expected 
you  to  come  home  wearing  English  plaids  and 
a  monocle." 

He  tingled  a  little  under  her  smile.  How 
pretty  she  was !  He  slyly  looked  her  over, 
from  her  little  ear  down  to  the  inordinately 
small  foot  which  showed  at  the  edge  of  her 
gown.  She  knew  he  was  looking  at  her  ad 
miringly,  but  she  remained  very  demure,  with 
eyes  turned  away.  How  different  from  Mary 
—  how  sweet  and  comprehensible  and  un 
troubled  she  was ! 

Mrs.  Ramsdell  and  Mr.  Twombly  were  talk 
ing  about  Chicago.  "  Yes,  it 's  a  dreadfully 


300  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

inartistic  place ;  but  you  must  remember  it  is 
only  about  fifty  years  old,  and  is  changing 
every  day  for  the  better." 

Bessie  joined  in  the  conversation,  much  to 
Jim's  dissatisfaction.  He  was  not  interested 
in  Chicago :  he  only  wanted  to  talk  with 
Bessie;  but  the  more  he  studied  her,  the  less 
certain  he  felt  of  pleasing  her  by  anything  he 
might  say.  There  was  something  in  her 
manner  which  distinctly  chilled  him.  Mrs. 
Ramsdell's  eyes  meanwhile  were  inquiring  of 
Bessie:  "What  is  the  matter?  Have  you 
quarreled  already  ?  " 

To  this  glance  Bessie  paid  no  heed,  and 
Jim  was  forced  to  sit  in  silence  while  she  told 
Twombly  all  about  Aspen  Park,  into  which  they 
had  then  entered.  It  really  was  an  attractive 
place,  with  its  smooth  green  lawns  and  flower 
beds,  and  wide  porches  looking  upon  the 
shaded  streets.  The  wind  was  from  the  lake, 
and  the  air  was  cool  and  sweet. 

Jim  threw  in  a  word :  "  Oh,  it 's  nice ;  but 
I  'd  hate  to  live  here  all  the  time.  About  eight 
thousand  feet  above  the  sea  suits  me  best." 

"  I  like  it  here.  I  could  n't  live  anywhere 
else,"  said  Bessie,  more  emphatically  than  the 
case  demanded. 


THE  LITTLE  GIRL   IN   ASPEN   PARK        301 

Jim  was  perfectly  sure  that  something  had 
gone  wrong,  but  did  not  care  at  the  moment 
to  ask  for  an  explanation,  especially  as  Bessie 
turned  again  to  Twombly,  who  frankly  ad 
mired  her,  and  accepted  her  interest  in  him 
with  unusual  grace. 

They  found  the  doctor  awaiting  them,  and 
Jim,  springing  out  to  assist  Mrs.  Ramsdell, 
gave  Twombly  the  pleasure  of  handing  Bes 
sie  out.  In  a  few  minutes  they  were  all 
within,  and  Twombly  had  a  chance  to  see 
what  the  home  of  his  hostess  was  like.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  he  was  profoundly  pleased.  It 
did  not  occur  to  him  that  Jim  was  interested 
in  dainty  Miss  Blake,  and  he  saw  no  reason 
why  he  should  not  make  a  long  stay  in 
Chicago. 

"  By  Jove  !  you  're  ideally  situated  here — 
quite  like  a  cottage  in  the  country,"  he  said  as 
Ramsdell  was  taking  him  to  his  room. 

"  We  think  it  's  rather  nice,"  the  doctor 
replied.  "  My  practice  is  mainly  in  the  city, 
and  when  I  'm  here  I  am  free  of  worry." 

As  soon  as  Twombly  was  taken  care  of, 
Ramsdell  came  into  Jim's  room  and  shut  the 
door. 

"  Well,  how  is  it,  old  man  ?     Got  'im  ?  " 


302  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

"  He  's  on  the  line,  but  we  may  lose  'im.  I 
done  my  best,  doc ;  but  they  're  a  little  shy 
over  there  just  now.  These  big  mining  fail 
ures  in  Africa  have  let  everybody  down  hard. 
Twombly  's  a  fair  man,  and  means  business, 
if  we  've  got  the  metal ;  and  we  have.  He  is 
going  out  to  investigate.  Your  letter  about 
the  Ella  Grace  just  about  upended  me.  I 
must  get  out  there  quick.  I  have  a  notion 
they  Ve  opened  up  something  good." 

The  doctor  whistled  softly.  "Jim,  I  'm 
going  to  save  your  life.  I  'm  arranging  a 
junketing  party,  and  Bessie  is  to  go  along." 

Jim  turned  and  held  out  his  hand.  "  Shake, 
doc !  that  wipes  out  the  grudge  I  Ve  had 
against  ye  for  sending  me  on  this  blank  sail 
ing-trip." 

"  Pulled  ye  down  a  little,  did  n't  it?  " 

Jim  looked  solemn.  "Doc,  I  caved  in;  I 
sure  did.  It  was  the  worst  proposition  I  ever 
went  up  against.  But  it  's  all  right  now.  I 
forgive  you.  That  is,  I  will  if  you  help  me 
win  out  with  the  little  girl  down-stairs.  She 
seems  a  little  shy  this  trip." 

"Win  out?  Why,  man,  you  Ve  got  a 
cinch.  She  has  n't  done  a  thing  but  talk  of 
you.  She's  crazy  to  see  'Jim's  mountains'  — 


THE  LITTLE  GIRL  IN  ASPEN  PARK        303 

that  's  what  she  calls  God's  hills ;  you  own 
'em,  root  and  branch,  so  far  as  she  is  con 
cerned.  She  would  n't  let  us  see  one  of  your 
letters  to  her.  Hugged  every  one  of  'em  to 
her  bosom  and  scooted  for  shelter.  I  knew 
you  were  putting  the  best  of  it  into  those 
bulky  packages,  but  nothing  availed.  She 
was  rock-bound  silence  on  that  side.  The 
'  missus '  is  so  pleased  at  the  whole  arrange 
ment,  she  don't  do  a  thing  but  pat  herself  on 
the  head.  But  say,  Jim,  this  Englishman 
likes  Bessie,  too.  He  had  eyes  like  a  potato- 
bug  when  he  looked  at  her." 

"I  '11  cut  him  off  at  the  pockets  if  he  inter 
feres,"  replied  Jim,  grimly. 

The  doctor  threw  out  a  warning  hand, 
"  No ;  not  till  we  empty  the  pockets,  Jim. 
Seriously,  I  don't  know  whether  we  want  his 
money  or  not.  I  kept  a  small  crew  pickin' 
away,  and  we  may  strike  it  yet.  How  much 
of  a  contract  have  you  made  with  him  ?  " 

"  No  contract  at  all.  I  tried  to  get  him  to 
make  a  payment  to  me  on  board  the  boat; 
but  he  was  shy,  and  kept  on  the  other  side  of 
the  fence." 

"  I  'm  glad  of  it.  Things  are  coming  our 
way  out  there,  if  I  'm  any  judge  o'  whisky. 


304  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

We  '11  keep  Twombly  interested ;  but  I  'm 
not  a  bit  anxious  since  Cuyler  wrote." 

Twombly  came  down  to  dinner  quite  un- 
wrinkled,  and  set  himself  to  the  enjoyment  of 
Mrs.  Ramsdell's  excellent  but  very  simple 
dinner.  Jim  carried  the  calm  countenance  of 
a  Sioux  chief,  but  had  a  watchful  eye  upon 
all  that  passed  between  the  Englishman  and 
Miss  Bessie  Blake. 

Ramsdell  began  at  once  to  plan  the  trip. 
"We  '11  take  the  '  Overland  Flier '  on  the  Santa 
Fe,  and  change  to  the  Rio  Grande  at  Pueblo." 

Bessie  fairly  shouted :  "  Oh,  oh,  oh  !  Won't 
that  be  jolly  !  When  do  we  start  ?  " 

"We!"  said  Ramsdell,  teasingly.  "Who 
said  you  were  going  ?  " 

"  You  did.     Did  n't  he,  auntie  ?  " 

Ramsdell  reconsidered.  "  Well,  perhaps 
I  did.  Have  a  little  more  chicken,  Mr. 
Twombly." 

.Bessie's  eyes  were  shining  now.  In  her 
excitement  she  forgot  to  be  reserved  with 
Jim.  "1  Ve  longed  to  see  the  mountains  all 
my  life,  and  to  go  this  way  is  beyond  every 
thing.  I  '11  need  a  mountain-dress,  won't  I  ? 
What  do  girls  wear  out  there,  Mr.  Matteson  ?" 

Jim  was  taken  by  surprise.      -Well,   now 


THE  LITTLE  GIRL  IN  ASPEN   PARK        305 

you  've  got  me  cornered.  Seems  like  they 
wear  some  kind  of  dark  outfit  generally.  I 
don't  think  any  of  'em  dress  the  way  you  do. 
I  reckon  anything  you  wear  will  be  all  right." 

"There  's  loyalty,  Bessie,"  said  Mrs.  Rams- 
dell. 

The  doctor  interposed :  "  Jim  would  n't 
know  whether  a  girl  wore  a  Paisley  shawl  or 
a  kimono." 

"Did  you  stop  over  in  New  York?"  asked 
Mrs.  Ramsdell. 

"  No ;  I  hustled  right  through.  I  was 
afraid  there  would  n't  be  another  train  out." 

Bessie  gave  her  attention  thereafter  to 
Twombly,  who  talked  exceedingly  well  in 
answer  to  the  girl's  eager  questions,  and  soon 
held  the  attention  of  Mrs.  Ramsdell  also. 

As  they  rose  from  the  table  Bessie  turned 
to  Jim.  "  Can  you  play  tennis?  " 

"  I  reckon  I  can  if  you  '11  show  me.  I  never 
saw  a  game  yet  I  could  n't  make  a  showing 
at  if  I  was  pushed  into  it" 

"Oh,  what  fun!  We  '11  back  you,  Mr. 
Cow-boy.  Of  course  you  play,  Mr.  Twombly." 

Her  tone  as  she  said  "of  course"  nettled 
Jim  a  little,  but  he  went  with  Ramsdell  to  try 
on  his  tennis-trousers,  resolute  as  ever. 


306  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"  We  like  to  have  early  dinner  and  a  game 
afterward,"  Mrs.  Ramsdell  explained.  "  Our 
game,  like  our  dinner,  is  very  light,  and  no 
harm  results." 

Jim  was  fairly  well  fitted  out  with  Rams- 
dell's  trousers  and  shoes,  and  as  he  came  into 
the  doctor's  room  he  said :  "  If  anybody  in 
March  had  told  me  that  in  August  I  'd  be 
playing  tennis  with  the  purtiest  girl  in  Chicago, 
I  'd  'a'  said,  '  Where  's  your  keeper  ? ' ' 

"  The  mutations  in  human  affairs  ofttimes 
transcend  the  phantasmagoric,"  mused  the 
doctor. 

Jim  eyed  him  suspiciously.  "Don't  start  in 
having  fun  with  me,  pardner.  My  in'ards  are 
all  hair-springs  to-day."  He  looked  at  him 
self  in  the  glass.  "  Great  Jupiter !  If  the 
boys  should  see  me  in  this  rig  they  'd  toss 
me  in  a  blanket.  Don't  tell  on  me,  for  the 
Lord's  sake." 

As  he  stepped  forth  on  the  porch  the  women 
exclaimed  in  admiration  of  his  handsome  figure. 
His  shamefaced  look  was  deliciously  boyish. 

"If  you  play  as  well  as  you  look,  Jim," 
called  Ramsdell,  "  you  '11  sweep  the  field." 

Bessie  chose  Twombly  for  a  partner,  and 
Jim  understood  that  she  was  carrying  out  a 


THE  LITTLE  GIRL  IN   ASPEN   PARK        307 

consistent  scheme  in  ignoring  him ;  but  he 
determined  that  she  should  not  have  a  chance 
to  laugh  at  him.  He  gave  his  entire  atten 
tion  to  the  game.  He  missed  the  ball,  he 
batted  it  through  the  netting,  he  made  a  hun 
dred  faults;  but  he  was  admirable  by  reason 
of  the  grace  and  swiftness  of  his  play. 

"  If  I  could  only  lay  out  some  muscle  in  the 
durn  thing,"  he  said  to  Mrs.  Ramsdell. 

She  smiled  encouragingly.  "  You  do  beau 
tifully,  Jim." 

"  It  gravels  me  to  see  that  slab-sided  Eng 
lishman  play  so  well,"  he  said  in  a  low  voice. 
"  If  I  had  a  week's  practice  I  'd  make  him 
hunt  a  hole.  For  a  woman's  game,  there  's  a 
whole  lot  of  exercise  about  tennis,"  he  said  to 
Bessie,  over  the  net. 

She  laughed  mockingly.  "  YOU  're  improv 
ing  very  fast.  Never  saw  any.  one  pick  the 
game  up  quicker." 

"  That  elects  me  to  Congress,"  he  replied. 
"  But  I  guess  I  '11  pull  out  and  let  the  doc 
take  my  hand." 

Ramsdell  refused,  and  so  Bessie  and  Twom- 
bly  played  a  game  or  two  while  the  others 
looked  on.  Jim,  under  pretense  of  "learning 
all  the  wrinkles,"  kept  near  Bessie ;  and  as  the 


3o8  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

girl  laughed  at  one  of  Jim's  quaint  remarks, 
Ramsdell  said  to  his  wife : 

"  For  a  plain,  every-day  miner,  Jim  seems  to 
be  making  love  with  a  certain  deftness  and 
despatch." 

"It  is  wonderful.  But  did  you  ever  see 
anything  like  the  coquetry  of  that  girl  ?  She  's 
playing  havoc  with  him." 

"  I  seem  to  remember  some  scenes  in  which 
you  and  I  played  much  the  same  parts,  my 
dear,"  the  doctor  musingly  replied.  "  I  was  a 
green  medical  student, — had  n't  half  the  dig 
nity  and  reserve  of  Jim, — and  you  befooled 
me." 

"  Now,  Willard,  that  is  not  true.  You 
know  I  was  loyal  to  you  from  the  very  start. 
I  never  even  looked  at  any  one  else." 

"I  could  cite  cases — " 

"Well,  if  I  did,  it  was  for  your  good.  You 
were  insufferably  egotistical." 

"  I  did  n't  see  your  action  in  that  benevolent 
aspect  then." 

"You  do  now." 

"  I  did  n't  say  so." 

Bessie  and  Twombly  played  on  till  darkness 
fell ;  but  Jim  gave  up  his  position  on  the  court 
and  took  a  seat  on  the  piazza  with  the  doctor, 


THE  LITTLE  GIRL  IN  ASPEN  PARK         309 

who  tried  to  get  him  to  talk ;  but  for  some 
reason  he  was  not  in  a  mood  for  conversation. 
His  replies  were  curt  and  sometimes  bluntly 
evasive,  and  the  doctor  gave  him  up  and 
sauntered  out  to  the  stable. 

When  Twombly  brought  in  the  rackets, 
Mrs.  Ramsdell  took  possession  of  him  and  led 
him  away  to  look  at  some  flowers  along  the 
walk,  leaving  Bessie  and  Jim  sitting  on  the 
porch  together.  Bessie  was  wonderfully  self- 
possessed,  and  developed  a  keen  interest  in 
Wagon  Wheel  Gap,  and  asked  a  great  many 
questions,  some  of  them  apparently  irrelevant. 

"  Are  there  no  girls  out  there  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  a  few.  I  never  got  acquainted 
with  any  except  the  waiters  in  the  hotels  and 
restaurants.  They  're  generally  mighty  plain 
samples.  Once  in  a  while  some  'one-lung 
er'  from  the  East  comes  out  and  shows  us 
another  kind." 

"  What  is  a  '  one-lunger '  ?  " 

''Feller  with  one  lung  —  consumptive  out 
for  his  health." 

"  Oh,  what  a  funny  name !  Do  girls  like 
that  go  out  there  ?  " 

"  Sometimes.  There  was  one  girl  I  used 
to  see  riding  around  in  a  carriage.  She  was 


3io  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

something  your  style,  only  paler  and  kind  o' 
sad-lookin'.  She  stayed  at  the  same  hotel  I 
got  my  meals  at.  I  was  mighty  sorry  for 
her.  Everybody  round  the  ranch  took  an 
interest  in  her.  But  they  brought  her  there 
too  late.  Mountain  air  will  just  about  mend 
a  hinge  on  a  door,  but  it  won't  cure  a  girl 
without  any  lungs  at  all." 

"  Poor  girl !  "  Something  in  Jim's  tone 
sobered  Bessie.  "  Is  Wagon  Wheel  a  real 
city  or  just  a  village  ?  " 

"Well,  it  's  quite  a  camp  now  —  a  big 
town  scattered  round  over  the  valley ;  and 
there  's  lots  o'  people  in  it  that  I  don't  know. 
A  feller  lopin'  around  over  the  hills  chasin'  up 
rocks  and  runnin'  '  overland  tunnels '  don't 
get  to  know  many  people.  When  we  're  in 
town  we  eat  at  hash-houses,  where  you  have 
to  lay  a  brick  on  your  pie  or  the  flies  '11  get  it 
first." 

"  Oh,  how  horrible  !  "  The  girl  shuddered 
at  the  picture. 

"  It  sure  makes  a  man  think  o'  home.  I  'm 
tired  of  it,  and  if  the  Earl  goes  into  our  mine, 
I  'm  goin'  to  change  my  pie-joint.  I  'm  go- 
in'  to  have  a  home  of  my  own."  He  checked 
himself,  and  in  the  pause  which  followed  the 


THE   LITTLE  GIRL  IN  ASPEN  PARK        311 

girl  gazed  straight  ahead  as  if  seeing  some 
thing  far  off.  Jim's  voice  .changed.  "  But 
we  must  n't  count  chickens  before  they  're  out 
o'  the  shells.  They  may  not  be  a  thing  in  it, 
and  I  may  have  to  climb  another  big  ridge 
before  I  build  that  house." 

Twombly,  escaping  from  Mrs.  Ramsdell, 
sauntered  back,  and  addressed  his  conversa 
tion  to  Bessie  with  the  frankest  intent  to 
monopolize  her.  He  quite  outdid  himself 
under  the  inspiration  of  Bessie's  absorbed 
interest.  Jim  rose  abruptly  and  went  in  the 
house,  deeply  chagrined  at  her  easy  forget- 
fulness  of  him. 

"  I  reckon  I  've  taken  a  whole  lot  of  trouble 
to  trail  up  the  wrong  girl, "he  said  to  himself. 
"  Tears  like  I  can't  do  better  than  just  pull 
out  for  the  Grizzly  Bear  trail  and  crawl  into 
my  hole." 

The  doctor,  coming  in,  made  matters  worse 
by  saying:  "  Jim,  that  Englishman  has  queered 
your  plans ;  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  Bessie 
is  hisn." 

"  You  need  n't  rub  it  in  on  me,"  replied 
Jim. 

Ramsdell  changed  his  tone.  "  Oh,  come 
now,  don't  take  it  too  seriously.  She  may  be 


312  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

just  playing  Twombly  to  make  you  come  to 
time." 

"  I  guess  I  '11  turn  in,"  said  Jim.  "  I 
have  n't  had  much  sleep  for  two  nights." 

"Very  well.  We  '11  have  plenty  of  time 
to-morrow  to  skin  our  woodchuck." 

To  Mrs.  Ramsdell  the  doctor  said :  "  That 
little  flirt  of  a  girl  has  given  Jim  a  powerful  jolt, 
and  he  's  too  unsophisticated  to  conceal  it." 

"Where  is  he?" 

"  Retired  to  his  lair  surly  as  a  bear  with 
a  sore  ear.  What  do  you  suppose  the  little 
witch  means  by  it  ?  " 

"  I  think  her  pride  was  hurt  by  those  stories 
about  Jim  and  the  London  society  woman." 

"  By  George,  you  are  right !  I  'd  forgotten 
all  about  that.  I  wonder  if  there  was  any  truth 
in  the  yarn.  I  '11  ask  Jim  in  the  morning." 

"  It  would  be  safer  to  wait,"  Mrs.  Ramsdell 
replied;  "perhaps  he  '11  allude  to  it  himself." 

As  he  lay  in  his  bed,  Jim  could  hear  Bessie 
singing  with  Twombly,  and  it  seemed  to  him 
he  was  shut  out  from  all  the  good  things  of 
earth.  Something  had  changed  her  attitude 
toward  him ;  something  had  angered  her. 
What  was  it  ?  Had  she  heard  of  Mary  ? 

He  sprang  up  and  dug  the  packet  of  letters 


THE  LITTLE   GIRL  IN  ASPEN  PARK        313 

out  of  his  valise,  and  went  over  them  one  by 
one  with  great  care.  The  first  few  seemed 
to  justify  his  former  reading  of  her  intent, 
but  in  the  later  ones  he  came  upon  the  ex 
pression  of  the  same  cool  sweetness  which 
was  in  her  greetings. 

In  one  of  Mrs.  Ramsdell's  letters,  which  he 
could  not  have  carefully  read,  he  found  a  line 
which  instructed  him.  "We  are  hearing 
strange  things  of  you,"  she  had  written.  "  A 
friend  sent  us  a  letter  which  appeared  in  the 
'  Denver  Record.'  It  is  evident  that  you  are 
enjoying  yourself  very  much  in  London." 

"I  see  it,"  he  said  to  himself.  "That  in 
fernal  Siwash  McAllister  has  handed  out  a 
few  nice  ones  to  Ed  Brainard  about  Mary 
and  me.  I  'd  like  to  break  him  in  two." 
He  did  not  consider  himself  to  blame  in  the 
matter.  All  his  intercourse  with  Mary  was 
over  and  gone,  and,  manlike,  he  thought  it 
unimportant  to  any  one  else,  anyway. 

Knowing  what  the  matter  was,  and  curing 
the  matter,  were  two  different  things  to  Jim. 
It  was  not  easy  for  him  to  explain  the  sim 
plest  of  his  feelings  to  a  woman,  and  to  justify 
himself  to  Bessie  in  his  relations  to  Mary  was 
quite  beyond  him.  "  There  is  only  one  thing 


3H  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

to  do,"  he  concluded  grimly,  "  and  that 's  to 
hit  the  Sunset  trail  like  a  hurricane,  and 
leave  the  whole  durn  woman  business  behind." 
These  complications  and  doubts  and  allure 
ments,  these  hair-hung,  triple-jointed  mental 
problems,  were  enough  to  wear  a  man's  pa 
tience  to  a  fringe.  What  was  the  use  trying 
to  explain,  anyhow? 

With  a  smothered  growl  of  resentment,  he 
turned  his  face  to  the  wall  and  went  to  sleep. 

HE  was  a  different  man  when  he  came 
down  to  the  table  next  morning.  His  brows 
were  set  in  straight  lines,  and  his  eyes  were 
keen  and  stern.  He  responded  very  curtly 
to  the  doctor's  greetings,  and  not  even  Mrs. 
Ramsdell's  cordial  smile  could  soften  him. 
The  doctor  was  sleepy  and  dull,  and  Jim 
understood  from  this  that  Twombly  had 
improved  his  opportunities  the  night  before, 
and  had  kept  them  all  up  late. 

Bessie  did  not  appear  at  all,  and  Jim  was 
glad  of  that,  for  the  doctor  opened  up  forbid 
den  topics  at  once. 

"  By  the  way,  Jim,  what 's  all  this  talk  con 
cerning  you  and  a  London  society  woman  ? 
What  about  it  ?  " 


THE   LITTLE   GIRL  IN   ASPEN   PARK         315 

"  What  society  woman  ?  "  he  asked,  to  gain 
time. 

"  Oh,  we  know  all  about  it.  The  Wagon 
Wheel  papers  were  full  of  it.  You  made  a 
bigger  hit  with  the  nobs  than  Buffalo  Bill, 
Mr.  Twombly  says." 

Twombly  interposed  :  "  Oh,  come  now  ! 
I  'm  not  going  that  far." 

The  doctor  insisted :  "  Well,  anyhow,  we 
want  an  account  of  those  rides  in  the  park." 

They  all  looked  as  if  expecting  Jim  to  joke. 
He  did  not;  he  did  not  even  smile  as  he 
slowly  answered : 

"  That  is  my  business,  doc,  and  I  'd  advise 
any  man  who  's  been  havin'  fun  with  me  to 
climb  a  tree  when  I  come  by." 

The  doctor  was  astonished,  but  he  knew 
his  hunting  partner  too  well  not  to  respect 
that  tone  in  his  voice.  He  hastened  to  apolo 
gize. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  old  man;  I  did  n't 
know  you  took  it  seriously.  It  's  all  right; 
shoot  me  on  sight  if  I  say  another  word. 
Now,  when  can  we  get  off  for  the  mine?'' 
he  asked,  to  change  the  subject. 

"I  leave  this  afternoon,"  Jim  replied;  "you 
can  come  on  when  you  're  ready." 


316  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"Are  n't  you  going  to  wait  and  go  with 
the  party  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Ramsdell. 

"  No ;  I  reckon  I  'm  a  little  too  swift.  I  Ve 
had  enough  of  the  low  country.  I  'm  goinr 
to  pull  my  freight  before  I  catch  the  swamp- 
fever,"  he  replied.  "  I  'm  a-goin'  to  jump 
high,  and  hit  only  the  high  spots  in  the  scenery. 
If  there  was  a  train  runnin'  a  mile  a  minute, 
I  'd  take  it." 

"  By  Jove !  I  '11  go  with  you,"  said  Twom- 
bly.  "I  '11  have  me  box  repacked  in  half  an 
hour  —  never  fear." 

"  I  reckon  you  'd  better  not,"  Jim  coldly 
replied.  "  You  '11  fare  better  if  you  come 
along  with  the  women.  Right  here  I  turn 
you  over  to  the  doc.  I  don't  want  to  be 
responsible  for  you  from  this  on." 

Mrs.  Ramsdell  caught  his  glance,  and  said 
very  gently:  "  I  'm  sorry  you  won't  wait,  Jim. 
I  had  counted  on  having  you  show  us  the 
great  peaks  —  and  so  had  Bessie.  I  know 
she  '11  be  very  much  disappointed  if  she 
does  n't  enter  the  mountains  with  you." 

The  trailer  felt  the  sincere  regret  in  the 
voice  of  his  hostess,  but  did  not  weaken.  "  I 
reckon  she  '11  pull  through  without  me,"  he 
said,  and  rose  from  the  table  abruptly.  "I  've 


THE   LITTLE   GIRL   IN   ASPEN   PARK         317 

done  my  duty,  doc ;  I  've  had  my  shout,  and 
now  I  return  to  my  goats." 

The  doctor  excused  himself  to  Twombly. 
"  Mrs.  Ramsdell  will  bring  you  down-town 
later."  He  said  nothing  more  to  his  partner 
till  they  were  fairly  seated  in  the  train,  and 
when  he  did  begin  his  voice  was  no  longer 
jocular.  He  spoke  firmly,  too,  without  hesi 
tation. 

"Jim,  what  did  they  do  to  you  over  there? 
You  're  not  the  same  man  at  all.  You 
don't  joke ;  you  're  touchy  as  a  locoed  horse. 
I  never  saw  such  a  change.  Old  man,  if  I 
thought  I  'd  lost  your  friendship  through  this 
English  trip,  I  'd  feel  like  sinking  the  whole 
blank  mine  to  the  gates  of  hell.  Come,  now, 
this  is  getting  serious ;  we  Ve  cinched  too 
many  pack-mules  together  not  to  get  to  the 
bottom  of  a  thing  like  this  without  bad  blood. 
What  's  wrong?  You  must  n't  bristle  up 
* at  me." 

Jim  sat  in  silence  for  a  moment,  then  curtly 
replied  :  "  I  'm  all  right.  I  brought  our  man 
out,  did  n't  I  ?  You  've  no  call  to  roar  about 
that,  I  reckon." 

"  Yes.  But  see  here,  old  man ;  I  've  had 
my  joke  about  you  and  the  girls,  but  I  'm  in 


3i8  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

dead  earnest  about  Bessie.  You  see,  the  girl 
had  heard  me  sing  your  praises  till  she  was 
fairly  crazy  to  see  you,  and  when  you  came 
on  you  captured  her ;  we  all  saw  that.  After 
you  went  to  England  she  did  nothing  but  talk 
about  you,  and  she  wrote  regularly  to  you 
until  that  article  came  out  in  the  Denver 
papers.  It  was  a  nasty  letter.  It  was  in 
tended  to  do  you  good,  but  it  hurt  you.  It 
said  you  'd  been  taken  up-by  a  society  woman 
over  there,  and  that  you  were  seen  every 
where  with  her.  We  all  thought  she  was 
making  a  fool  of  you,  and  naturally  Bessie  — " 

"  It  was  that  jackass  McAllister.  Ed 
Brainard  should  have  had  sense  enough  not 
to  print  his  letter." 

"  All  the  papers  copied  it  with  glee.  Well, 
that  sobered  Bessie  down.  Of  course  Mrs. 
Ramsdell  and  I  made  light  of  it;  but  your 
letters  along  about  that  time  did  n't  help  mat 
ters  a  little  bit.  Now,  Mrs.  Ramsdell  had  set 
her  heart  on  making  a  match  between  you 
and  Bessie ;  but  that  letter  queered  the  whole 
proposition  for  the  time  being.  How  much 
truth  was  in  it?" 

"  You  want  a  straight- goods  answer  ?  " 

"Yes." 


THE  LITTLE  GIRL  IN  ASPEN  PARK        319 

"Well,  I  don't  know  myself." 

Ramsdell  turned  sharply.  "  What  am  I  to 
understand  by  that  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  that,  either.  I  met  her  at 
Dr.  Robertson's.  I  liked  her,  and  she  liked 
me.  She  was  a  mighty  bright  girl, —  about 
the  brightest  I  ever  saw, —  and  she  took 
a  whole  lot  of  interest  in  my  affairs.  I 
would  n't  'a'  had  Twombly  only  for  her.  The 
whole  thing  seems  like  a  dream  to  me  now. 
I  reckon  she  started  in  to  make  game  of 
me," — he  paused  with  instinctive  delicacy, — 
"but  we  got  to  be  good  friends.  We  sure 
went  the  rounds  together,  and  we  had  a  good 
time.  But  she  was  a  fine  woman, — don't  make 
any  mistake, —  and  —  I  —  I  thought  one 
while  I  needed  her,  and  I  tried  to  bring  her 
along.  Now,  that 's  the  God's  truth.  But 
she  put  the  kibosh  on  that,  and  so  I  came 
home  without  her."  He  ended,  looking  out 
of  the  window :  "I  'm  glad  I  did  now ;  but, 
all  the  same,  we  had  some  mighty  fine  rides 
together." 

The  doctor  sat  in  silence.  Jim's  tone  made 
the  entanglement  much  more  serious  than  he 
had  supposed.  He  wished  Mrs.  Ramsdell 
were  there  to  hear  the  cadences  in  the  trailer's 


320  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

voice.  "  Well,  Jim,  all  I  can  say  is,  she  must 
have  been  a  high-class  specimen." 

Jim  was  touched.  "  She  was,  doc ;  she  was 
sure  enough  all  silk,  and  I  'd  'a'  brought 
her  if  I  could;  but  —  it  's  all  over  now.  As 
I  say,  it  's  like  a  dream,  and  I  reckon  the 
sooner  I  forget  it  the  better.  It  was  a  mighty 
queer  formation  to  put  me  into  over  there ;  they 
sure  had  me  guessin'  most  of  the  time :  but 
they  never  knew  it.  I  trumped  every  big 
card  they  led,  and  I  won  out.  Now  I  reckon 
I  'm  done  with  women  and  tea  for  a  few  days. 
I  'm  climbin'  back  to  timber-line,  and  when 
I  git  there,  I  '11  stay  there.  No  more  big 
canoes  and  nervous  women  for  me ;  I  want  to 
get  my  shoulder  ag'in'  a  rock  for  a  while  and 
find  out  where  I  'm  at." 

The  doctor  smiled  again.  "  I  guess  you  '11 
come  out  all  right.  Every  man  has  a  weak 
side.  Well,  you  're  right  about  getting  out  for 
the  mine.  Go  ahead  and  see  if  you  can  ferret 
out  the  mystery  of  the  Ella  Grace.  We  '11 
come  sailing  along  about  a  week  later." 

"  All  right.  When  I  get  old  Ouray  propped 
ag'in'  the  moon,  and  hear  the  Grizzly  Bear 
singin'  below,  I  reckon  I  can  just  about  feel 
the  grass  grow.  They  won't  fool  me  twice." 


THE  LITTLE  GIRL  IN  ASPEN  PARK        321 

That  night  at  dinner  Ramsdell  handed  to 
Twombly  the  slip  which  contained  McAllister's 
letter  about  Jim.  After  he  had  read  it, 
Twombly  looked  up  to  say : 

"Very  clever,  that  —  and  it  's  nearly  true, 
too." 

"  I  wondered  about  that." 

"  Of  course  Mary  is  n't  the  no  end  of  swell 
that  this  reporter  makes  out.  She  's  a  very 
clever  girl,  y'  know,  and  all  that  —  and  goes 
in  for  the  literary  and  artistic.  And  she  is 
degenerate,  as  this  fellow  says ;  but,  really, 
she  is  n't  half  so  bad  as  he  paints  her.  She  's 
very  nice.  Her  boldness  is  all  talk,  y'  know 
—  oh,  quite  so!  Yes;  Jim  was  no  end  suc 
cessful  wherever  he  went,  but  he  would  n't 
let  anybody  use  him.  I  fancy  Mary  was 
obliged  to  humor  him." 

"Did  he  ride  in  the  park  —  the  way  the 
letter  says  ?  "  asked  Bessie. 

"  Oh,  quite  so.  Indeed,  they  were  most 
conspicuous  there.  Mary  is  an  excellent 
horsewoman,  and  took  peculiar  pleasure  in 
Jim's  cow-boy  ways.  The  camping  trip  which 
this  fellow  just  hints  at  was  really  great  fun. 
I  had  a  share  in  that  myself.  But  it  was  quite 
innocent.  Mrs.  Robertson  chaperoned  it." 


322  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

He  told  of  Jim's  assumption  of  the  airs  of 
the  guide  with  great  glee,  and  described  mi 
nutely  the  two  days'  outing.  "  It  was  jolly 
sport.  Nothing  would  have  pleased  Mary 
better  than  to  be  out  a  week  in  a  tent, 
eating  Jim's  cooking;  but  Mrs.  Robertson 
was  seized  with  a  panic  for  fear  it  would  rain, 
or  of  burglars,  I  don't  recall  which,  and  that 
ended  it  all.  Mary  went  black  as  a  thunder 
cloud, —  you  fancy  her  feelings, —  and  we  all 
filed  away  back  to  Wyndhurst ;  and  Jim  bolted 
for  the  city  next  day,  disgusted  with  the  lot 
of  us." 

Bessie  did  not  find  this  at  all  amusing. 
"  Were  there  only  two  women  in  the  party? " 

"That's  all;   Mary  and  Mrs.  Robertson." 

"  You  say  Miss  Brien  has  written  a  book  ? 
What  kind  of  a  book  ?  "  asked  Ramsdell. 

"  Well,  really,  now,  I  could  n't  say.  I  don't 
read  novels,  on  principle.  But  Mrs.  Robert 
son  alluded  to  it  occasionally  as  a  dreadful 
example  of  what  a  really  fine  girl  is  willing  to 
put  into  print." 

The  doctor  smiled  at  his  wife.  "  I  reckon 
I  can  guess  at  the  character  of  it.  We  Ve 
had  a  book  or  two  of  that  sort  crop  out  here 
in  Chicago." 


THE  LITTLE  GIRL  IN  ASPEN  PARK        323 

"I  had  a  notion  that  Mary  was  using  Jim 
as  material ;  but  he  is  by  no  means  easy  lead 
ing.  I  fancy  she  got  a  different  sort  of  story 
out  of  him  than  she  had  planned  for.  Any 
how,  he  left  her  without  a  word  of  farewell ; 
and  it  was  only  by  a  lucky  shot  that  I  hit 
upon  him  at  the  boat.  He  seemed  rather 
overjoyed  to  be  out  of  it." 

Bessie  was  very  grave.  "  I  think  it  was 
very  low  and  deceitful  of  her  to  use  Jim  in 
that  way." 

Not  till  the  women  were  alone  did  Bessie 
permit  her  aunt  to  see  how  deeply  she  was 
hurt  by  Jim's  sudden  departure.  She  put  her 
head  against  Mrs.  Ramsdell's  bosom  and  cried 
a  little. 

Mrs.  Ramsdell  was  inclined  to  be  severe. 
"  It  was  your  own  fault,"  she  said,  with  more 
impatience  than  she  had  ever  shown  before. 
"  I  never  knew  a  woman  to  enact  that  stupid 
old  comedy  of  flirting  to  make  her  lover  jeal 
ous  without  getting  hurt.  It  's  silly  and  it  's 
dangerous.  You  should  have  waited  for  him 
to  explain  —  I  don't  think  Mr.  Twombly  has 
given  us  the  whole  truth.  I  mean  to  suspend 
judgment  till  Jim  tells  me  all  about  it  himself. 
He  '11  surely  confide  in  the  doctor.  There  is 


324  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

nothing  for  you  to  do  but  go  with  us  and  be 
nice  to  him,  and  see  what  happens.  If  you 
really  care,  and  he  cares,  things  will  come  out 
right,  after  all." 

After  one  has  spilled  one's  porridge,  advice 
as  to  what  might  have  prevented  it  is  never 
welcome,  and  Bessie  resented  her  aunt's  emi 
nently  sensible  words.  The  mountaineer  had 
appealed  to  her  imagination  even  in  the  vague 
form  given  him  by  the  doctor's  words :  he 
stood  for  something  big  and  daring  and  ele 
mental  ;  and  his  actual  presence  had  not  dis 
appointed  her.  His  powerful  and  graceful 
figure,  his  fine  profile,  and  his  humorous  brown 
eyes  developed  love  out  of  interest.  She  had 
made  of  him  an  epic  figure,  and  her  loyalty  to 
him  during  the  months  of  his  absence  made 
his  interest  in  another  woman  seem  like  a 
breach  of  faith.  She  was  hurt  and  deeply 
resentful  of  his  easy  shift  of  purpose ;  but  a 
night's  sleep  enabled  her  to  recover  her  na 
tive  serenity.  She  looked  forward  to  seeing 
him  again.  Perhaps  — ! 

Meanwhile  she  found  Mr.  Twombly's  atten 
tions  grateful  and  diverting. 


XIV 

THE   SNOWY   PEAKS 

WHEN  Jim  left  Chicago  the  smoke  hung 
low  over  the  roofs  of  the  city,  and  the 
engines  crept  about  in  the  darkness  like  timid 
kine.  The  Colorado  express  was  two  hours 
getting  outside  the  city  limits,  but  when  he 
woke  the  mountaineer  was  made  glad  by  the 
vivid  prairie  sunshine.  The  train  was  rushing 
through  rich  pastures  and  between  the  waving 
green  blades  of  soldierly  corn.  The  shaven 
stubble  of  garnered  wheat-fields  was  like 
mottled  velvet  to  the  eye.  It  was  all  good  to 
see,  but  Jim  was  impatient  for  the  mountains. 
The  next  day  in  Kansas  was  a  long  day,  but 
signs  of  home  thickened  hour  by  hour. 

When  he  reached  First  View,  Jim  rushed 
out  on  the  platform  to  see  if  the  Spanish 
Peaks  were  in  sight,  and  when  he  located 
their  faint  outlines  in  the  sky,  he  took  off  his 
hat  to  them  and  yelled  like  a  Comanche: 

325 


326  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"Whoo-whoop!  there  she  rises!"  and  turning,, 
waved  his  hand  in  good-by  to  the  low  country. 

As  he  neared  the  majestic  wall,  over  whose 
tops  the  sun  was  setting,  every  vestige 
of  his  gloom  and  bitterness  swept  away. 
The  mountain-peaks  clarified  his  brain  as  the 
wind  from  the  pass  blew  the  miasma  of  the 
low  country  from  his  garments.  His  eyes 
resumed  their  quizzical  humor  and  his  words 
regained  the  full  flavor  of  the  West.  He  spent 
an  hour  on  the  platform  with  two  very  plain 
old  women  from  Massachusetts,  explaining 
the  habits  of  wolves  and  prairie-dogs,  and 
pointing  out  the  peaks  which  thickened  along 
the  horizon-line;  and  in  tke  smoking-room 
he  became  the  center  of  interest.  When  alone 
he  sang  with  a  yowl  like  a  mountain-lion. 

At  Silver  City  he  was  forced  to  wait  six 
hours  for  the  narrow-gage  train ;  but  he  did 
not  mind  that,  for  he  was  again  in  the  land 
of  the  Mexican  saddle,  the  cow-boy,  and  the 
miner.  He  walked  the  streets,  glad  of  every 
sign  of  home.  The  windows  filled  with  som 
breros,  spurs,  and  pack-saddles ;  the  ponies 
standing  with  drooping  heads  and  slanting, 
tired  hips,  their  reins  dangling  ;  the  crowds 
of  young  men  in  and  about  the  saloons;  the 


THE  SNOWY  PEAKS  327 

boxes  of  ore  in  real-estate  windows  —  all 
these  gave  him  serene  joy.  They  were  all 
proof  that  he  was  not  dreaming  —  that  he 
was  in  very  truth  homeward  bound. 

When  he  found  himself  in  the  little  sleep 
ing-car,  and  fairly  doubled  into  his  berth,  he 
gave  a  sigh  of  keen  pleasure  and  said : 

"  When  I  look  out  again  I  '11  be  on  the 
western  slope  of  the  Christo  range." 

Several  times  during  the  night  he  woke 
to  feel  the  train  moving  slowly  on  a  sharp 
curve,  the  two  little  engines  panting  like  tired 
dogs,  and  said  to  himself:  "We  're  on  the 
Elk  Horn  grade,"  or,  "This  must  be  the  ap 
proach  to  the  tunnel." 

The  air  grew  keener,  crisper  each  moment, 
and  raising  the  curtain  of  his  berth,  he  peered 
out  at  the  giant  domes  looming  somberly 
against  the  cloudless  sky  blazing  with  low- 
hung  stars.  London  was  a  smudge  of  yellow 
mist,  New  York  a  miasmatic  swamp,  and 
Chicago  a  storm  of  dangerous  traffic,  as  he 
looked  backward  and  downward  upon  them 
in  imagination. 

"  It 's  a  wonder  I  ever  got  back  alive,"  he 
said,  thinking  of  the  multiple  dangers  of  his 
journey.  "  But  here  I  am,  and  here  I  stay." 


328  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

From  Junction  City  (which  lay  squat  on 
the  hot  sand  of  the  level  valley)  he  could  see 
the  clouds  circling  over  his  mountains,  and  his 
heart  yearned  for  the  rain-wet  trail  which  ran 
to  his  cabin  and  to  the  mine.  It  was  hot 
noonday,  and  the  gleam  of  the  snow  in  the 
gulches  lured  him  with  such  power  he  could 
scarcely  endure  the  wait  for  dinner.  The 
water  was  singing  below  his  door,  the  squirrels 
were  barking,  the  camp  birds  and  jays  were 
disputing,  and  down  below  the  purple  valleys 
wound  away  into  silence. 

At  last  he  found  himself  on  the  "spur"  and 
driving  straight  toward  the  cloudy  mountain- 
land  whose  ragged  peaks  rose  nearly  fifteen 
thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  In  the  narrow- 
gage  car  were  men  he  knew,  and  they  all 
seemed  glad  to  see  him. 

"  How  did  you  come  out  on  your  London 
trip,  Jim  ?  "  one  man  asked  in  friendly  direct 
ness. 

"All  right,  I  reckon.     I  got  my  man." 

"  Don't  sell  too  cheap,"  said  his  friend,  sig 
nificantly. 

"  What  you  mean  by  that  ?  " 

"Well,  I  '11  tell  you.  There  's  something 
going  on  in  the  Ella  Grace.  You  know 


THE  SNOWY  PEAKS  329 

that  stock  was  hard  to  sell  at  ten  when  you 
left." 

"  Yes  ;  I  did  n't  want  it  at  that." 

"  Well,  it 's  fifty- five  now." 

"  Whew  ! "  whistled  Jim.     "  What 's  up  ?  " 

"  Somebody  's  quietly  buying  in  the  stock, 
I  hear.  I  don't  know  anything  about  it. 
Ask  Sam  Cuyler.  I  hear  that  they  've  tapped 
the  vein  that  is  in  the  Concordia.  If  they 
have  —  I  say  if  they  have  — " 

"  Any  clue  to  the  buyer  ?  " 

"Well,  they  say  that  Cuyler  is  doing  the 
buying  himself  through  agents.  Mind  you, 
that  is  only  what  I  hear.  Meanwhile  the  ore 
makes  no  showing." 

Jim  mused.  "  I  see  his  game.  He  wants 
to  control  the  stock  before  he  makes  any 
showing.  I  'm  much  obliged,  Tom.  I  reckon 
I  got  home  about  the  right  time." 

"  You  're  in  line  on  that  vein  all  right.  It 
cuts  right  through  the  hill." 

"That 's  been  my  calculation  all  along." 

Jim  was  doubly  anxious  now  to  reach  home. 
It  was  well  toward  sunset  when  the  laboring 
engines  climbed  into  the  little  flat  where  the 

o 

Grizzly  Bear  roared  over  its  shallows,  and 
stopped  in  the  midst  of  Wagon  Wheel  to  rest. 


330  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

The  mighty  walls,  soaring  six  thousand  feet 
above  the  town,  were  lighted  with  the  golden 
glow  of  the  sun,  which  had  already  left  the 
top  of  the  secondary  peaks.  The  broad  fields 
of  snow  were  rosy  pink ;  the  grassy  slopes 
glowed  with  opalescent  lights;  and  one  or 
two  great,  solitary  white  clouds  seemed  to 
stand  on  edge  behind  Ouray,  waiting  in  the 
deep-blue  sky.  Jim  lifted  his  eyes  and  took 
a  good  look  at  the  peaks  he  loved,  and  then 
struck  out  up  the  street  with  long  strides. 
He  had  finished  sauntering  ;  he  was  going  to 
work. 

Every  man  he  met  had  a  word  of  jocular 
greeting. 

"  Hello,  Jim  !     Glad  to  see  you  back." 

"  Glad  to  be  back." 

"  Hello,  Jim  !  How  'd  you  like  the  East?" 
asked  another. 

"  No  more  low  country  for  me." 

A  third  was  facetious  :  "Hello,  Jim!  Well, 
by  the  Lord !  Never  expected  to  see  you 
again,  after  that  article  in  the  '  Record.'  I 
said,  'That  ends  it!  Jim  's  sold  his  mine,  and 
got  hooked  by  a  girl.' " 

Jim  walked  on  without  reply. 

"  Good  evening,  Jim,"  said  the  clerk  in  the 


THE  SNOWY  PEAKS  331 

post-office  window.  "  How  's  your  health  ?  " 
and  she  reached  her  hand  to  him. 

He  took  it  heartily.  "  I  'm  about  as  usual, 
I  reckon  ;  how  are  you  ?  " 

"  Oh,  so  's  't  I  sit  in  my  box.  Say,  they  's 
a  whole  bunch  of  mail  for  you  —  one  English 
letter,  sealing-wax,  monogram,  and  all  that ! 
When  are  we  to  see  that  '  mash '  you  made 
over  there  ?  " 

"About  the  day  before  kirfgdom  come,  I 
reckon,"  said  Jim,  as  he  took  the  letters.  "I 
was  selling  a  mine.  When  I  hooked  my  fish, 
I  come  home.  Girls  was  a  side  issue  with  me". 

"  It  did  n't  look  so  when  you  was  a-ridin' 
around  the  parks  with  Lady  Blank- Blank. 
Oh,  we  know  all  about  it.  The  '  Hub '  re 
printed  the  article,  and  we  girls  all  cut  it  out 
and  pinned  it  on  the  wall.  You  '11  have  to 
give  a  champagne  dinner  to  square  yourself 
with  us ;  now  that  goes." 

"  Good  night !  "  said  Jim,  with  a  grin. 

"We  '11  ha'nt  you  if  you  don't,"  she  called 
after  him. 

He  stuffed  the  letters  into  the  pocket  of  his 
rough  coat,  and  handed  his  valise  in  at  the 
hotel.  "Here,  you  keep  this  for  me;  I  'm 
goin'  up  to  the  mine." 


332  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"  Better  have  supper  first,"  said  the  clerk. 

"  No ;  could  n't  eat  now.     Good  night." 

As  he  climbed  his  heart  grew  gay.  On 
the  yellow  roads  the  groaning  brakes  of  great 
ore- wagons  could  be  heard.  Droves  of  burros 
pattered  along,  each  with  his  two  sacks  of  ore, 
his  head  held  low,  his  ears  flapping.  The 
imperious  or  jovial  calls  of  the  drivers  echoed 
from  cliff  to  cliff,  shaking  the  miner's  heart 
with  wordless  joy. 

The  air  was  marvelously  fresh  and  soft  and 
clear.  The  canoto  water  called  huskily  from 
its  deep,  cold  shadow,  but  on  the  opposite 
peak  the  setting  sun  still  lay  warm  and  red. 
High  in  the  blue  air,  close  to  a  cloud,  a 
couple  of  eagles  were  at  play.  Jim  was 
coming  to  his  own.  London  was  at  the  under 
side  of  the  world ;  Chicago  was  lost  in  the 
shadows  of  the  low  country. 

Darkness  came  on  swiftly,  and  the  moun 
tain  world  grew  ever  more  mysterious  and 
alluring.  The  voice  of  the  stream  grew 
mightier  and  mightier,  till  it  seemed  to  fill  the 
canon  as  the  voice  of  a  lion  resounds  in  a 
cavern,  imperious,  insistent,  unremitting.  As 
the  last  rays  of  the  sun  rested  on  the  highest 
peaks,  they  blazed  with  light  as  though  on 


THE   SNOWY  PEAKS  333 

fire  from  within,  and  became  twin  brothers  of 
the  mighty  clouds  that  hung  motionless  above 
them. 

Jim  noticed  with  disgust  that  his  legs  ached 
and  his  breath  came  with  an  effort.  "  The 
low  country  has  taken  the  tuck  out  o'  me," 
he  said.  "  Good  thing  I  'm  back." 

In  the  old  days  he  could  walk  that  ever- 
mounting  trail  in  two  hours,  with  a  pack  on 
his  back ;  now  he  was  breathing  hard  with 
nothing  but  his  coat  to  carry,  and  was  falling 
behind  his  schedule,  besides.  Though  his 
limbs  grew  weary,  his  senses  were  alert.  He 
heard  every  insect,  every  bird,  and  the  odors 
of  the  plants  and  flowers  came  to  his  nostrils 
with  infinite  suggestion.  He  had  never  be 
fore  been  absent  from  the  wild  things  of  earth 
for  a  single  day,  and  his  eyes  and  ears  were 
avid  of  the  good,  familiar  sights  and  sounds. 
As  he  hurried  on,  he  passed  mine  after  mine. 
He  knew  every  light :  that  was  the  Commo 
dore,  that  was  the  North  Star,  and  that  was 
the  Ella  Grace.  His  mine  was  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Kicking  Horse,  which  entered 
the  Grizzly  Bear  at  right  angles  just  below 
timber-line. 

There  was  no  light  as  he  came  in  sight  of 


334  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

the  cabin;  Bill  had  gone  to  bed.  A  coyote 
leaped  away  from  the  door,  where  he  had 
been  sniffing  for  bones,  and  scampered  up  the 
trail. 

Jim  hammered  on  the  door.  "Hello,  the 
house  !  Hello  !  Open  up  !  I  want  to  stay 
all  night ! " 

Listening,  he  smiled  to  hear  a  muttered 
oath  of  surprise.  The  creak  of  boards  fol 
lowed,  as  the  man  within  rolled  from  his  bunk 
and  came  across  the  floor.  "  Is  that  you, 
Jim?" 

Jim  resumed  his  tattoo  on  the  door. 

"  You  bet  your  life  !  Open  up  !  I  'm  hungry 
enough  to  eat  nails." 

"  Wait  a  minute  till  I  strike  a  glim." 

When  the  feeble  glow  of  a  candle  fell  upon 
the  miner,  it  disclosed  a  tall,  gaunt,  bearded, 
and  very  swarthy  man  of  fifty.  He  shook 
hands  impassively.  "  Glad  to  see  ye.  Why 
did  n't  ye  tell  us  you  was  comin'  ?  " 

Jim  went  over  to  a  table  which  consisted 
of  a  flat  box  nailed  against  the  logs  of  the 
cabin. 

"  Did  n't  know  when  I  'd  get  here.  Did 
you  leave  anything  to  eat  ?  " 

"  Durn  little.     I  reckon  they  's  a  hunk  o' 


THE  SNOWY   PEAKS  335 

beef  and  some  b'iled  potatoes.  They  's  about 
a  spoonful  o'  prunes  in  that  can,  and  some 
coffee.  Help  yourself." 

"  I  'm  in  luck." 

"You  shore  be.  Andy  went  to  town  at 
noon,  and  hain't  got  back.  I  reckon  he  won't 
get  back.  Simonson  come  by,  and  said  he  see 
him  drunk  as  a  b'iled  owl,  a-settin'  out  back  o* 
the  blacksmith  shop.  How  are  ye,  anyway, 
boy?" 

"  I  'm  all  right.  Go  to  bed,"  replied  Jim, 
and  the  old  man  obeyed  with  a  yawn.  They 
understood  each  other  too  well  to  require  any 
fancy  phrases. 

As  he  chewed  on  a  hunk  of  tough  beef  and 
drank  his  cold  coffee,  Jim  thought  of  Mary 
and  Wyndhurst  and  its  exquisite  table,  with 
its  flowers,  its  silver  and  crystal  service,  and 
its  dainty  food,  and  the  life  it  subtended  seemed 
like  something  he  had  read  about  in  youth. 

He  took  out  his  letters  and  laid  them  out 
before  him.  One  was  from  Mary,  and  it 
seemed  as  alien  there  on  the  rough  pine  table 
as  her  glove  would  have  been.  It  gave  him 
a  curious  pang  of  pain  to  open  that  delicate 
little  square  envelop.  Its  faint  perfume  brought 
vividly  to  his  mind  her  dress,  the  gleam  of 


336  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

her  white  shoulders,  her  hair,  her  rose-tinted 
face.  She  was  not  easy  to  forget.  It  seemed 
so  long  since  he  had  seen  her,  he  did  not 
perceive  that  the  letter  must  have  been  written 
immediately  after  he  left  for  Liverpool.  The 
letter  ran : 

DEAR  OLD  TRAILER  :  I  hope  this  will  find  you  in  your 
aerie  on  the  cliff.  I  am  sending  it  there  because  I  would 
n't  like  you  to  read  it  in  Chicago  or  any  other  city.  I 
am  lonely,  Jim.  I  miss  my  "  pard  "  more  than  I  had  sup 
posed  it  possible.  It  is  five  o'clock.  We  were  to  go  to 
Grosvenor  Square  to  tea  to-day  —  do  you  remember? 
And  to-night  we  were  to  attend  another  "  confoozle-um  " 
(as  you  called  it)  at  the  Cray-Crofts.  That  young  Austra 
lian  poet  will  be  disappointed  not  to  meet  you.  I  shall 
not  go  out.  You  've  broken  my  heart,  and  my  death 
may  be  announced  any  moment.  But  I  am  not  sorry  I 
met  you.  I  am  glad  Twombly  is  going  with  you.  I  wish 
I  had  —  only  you  did  not  ask  me  again,  as  I  hoped  you 
would.  I  'm  ashamed  —  or  ought  to  be  —  to  say  how 
lost  I  feel  without  you.  However,  I  '11  get  over  this. 
You  must  not  worry  about  me;  I  know  myself  a  great 
deal  better  than  you  do.  I  am  a  changeable  person.  At 
the  same  time,  I  did  n't  suppose  any  human  being  —  any 
man  —  could  cause  me  to  miss  him  as  you  have  done. 
You  interested  me. 

You  brought  something  back  into  my  life  which  I 
needed  —  a  waft  of  wholesome  mountain  air.  Now  it  is 
gone,  I  seem  to  be  stifling.  But  no  more  of  that.  I  'm 
not  complaining.  I  'm  going  to  write  you  the  cheeriest 
letters,  and  you  must  let  me  know  all  about  the  mine; 


THE   SNOWY   PEAKS  337 

and  when  you  send  my  shares  you  put  your  own  name  on 
them ;  it  will  make  them  more  valuable  to  me. 

Your  partner,  MARY  BRIEN. 

Jim  sat  for  a  long  time,  slowly  re-reading 
each  phrase,  and  wondering  how  much  of  its 
emotion  was  genuine,  how  much  assumed.  It 
was  all  too  far  away  now,  that  life  in  London, 
to  stir  him  deeply.  The  mountains,  the  roar 
ing  stream,  the  cabin  —  these  were  realities. 
The  London  streets,  the  teas,  the  receptions, 
Mrs.  Robertson,  Mary  herself —  all  were  parts 
of  a  dream-world,  as  insubstantial  as  the 
valley  mist  of  a  morning,  which  seemed  to  be 
a  roadway  of  granite,  but  rolled  away  like 
a  curtain  as  the  sun  rose.  He  began  to 
love  that  dream,  and  to  cling  to  its  memory 
as  he  had  often  clung  to  a  beautiful  vision  in 
boyhood.  He  turned  to  his  bunk  with  a 
somber  face,  for  both  Mary  and  Bessie  were 
lost  to  him,  and  he  was  the  lonely  miner  again. 

"  I  reckon  the  Lord  did  n't  intend  me  to 
be  a  man  of  a  family.  Anyhow,  I  'm  right 
back  where  I  was  when  I  started  East,  and 
now  I  take  root." 

THE  next  morning,  as  he  was  crossing  the 
divide,  he  met  Cuyler  of  the  Ella  Grace. 


338  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

"  Hel-/0,  Jim  ! "  said  he,  in  cordial  surprise. 
"  When  did  you  get  back  ?  " 

Jim  went  straight  to  his  mark.  "  Last 
night.  Say,  Cuyler,  you  're  the  very  man  I 
want  to  see.  What  's  the  meaning  of  all  this 
boom  in  the  Ella  Grace  ?  " 

Cuyler  had  the  calm  face  of  a  poker-player, 
and  remained  non-committal.  "  Why,  I  don't 
know  as  it  is  a  boom.  The  stock  is  crawling 
up  slowly,  but  then  we  always  expected  it  to 
do  that." 

Jim  reached  out  and  took  him  by  the  col 
lar.  "  See  here,  Sam ;  I  don't  care  what  your 
game  is,  but  I  want  to  ask  you  a  business 
question,  and  I  want  a  straight-goods  answer." 

"Sail  ahead,"  replied  Cuyler,  bracing  him 
self. 

"  I  went  to  England  to  sell  stock  in  our 
hole-in-the-ground.  I  Ve  roped  a  man  to 
go  in  if  the  hole  shows  the  '  pay  streak '  to 
suit  him.  Well,  now,  would  you  sell  ?  " 

Cuyler  remained  as  blank  of  visage  as  a 
Chinese  idol.  "  How  much  are  you  asking?" 

"  Two  hundred  thousand  for  a  half- interest." 

"  You  want  an  answer  now  ?" 

"  Right  now." 

"  It 's  between  us  —  strictly  ?  " 


THE  SNOWY  PEAKS  339 

"  Why,  sure  thing." 

"Double  your  price.     Good  morning." 

Jim  gave  out  a  yell  which  scared  a  mother 
eagle  from  her  nest  high  on  the  shoulder  of 
Lizard  Mountain. 

Cuyler  turned  and  came  back.  "  See  here, 
Jim.  Before  letting  anybody  else  in,  see  me, 
will  you?  I  may  have  a  scheme." 

"  All  right,"  replied  Jim,  and  wired  the  doc 
tor:  "Things  are  bilun'.  Come  on." 

Three  days  later  he  received  a  letter  from 
the  doctor  in  answer  to  his  telegram : 

Your  wire  only  confirmed  me,  I  've  said  nothing  further 
to  Twombly,  who  is  too  much  interested  in  Bessie  to  care 
whether  school  keeps  or  not.  But  don't  you  worry,  old 
man ;  he  's  overdoing  the  thing.  She  's  getting  a  little 
weary  of  him,  and  Mrs.  Ramsdell  tells  me  very  privately 
that  your  pulling  out  was  a  good  move.  It  taught  the 
girl  a  lesson.  She 's  wild  to  get  started  West,  and  I  notice 
Twombly  has  to  just  about  drag  her  out  to  play  tennis. 
If  she  knew  just  how  you  feel  about  the  London  girl  she  'd 
be  happier.  I  told  her  to  mind  her  own  business  and  be 
a  good  little  girl  and  I  'd  take  her  out  to  see  you.  We  '11 
leave  here  Sunday  night  on  the  Santa  F6.  We  '11  prob 
ably  lay  over  a  day  at  the  Springs,  and  be  with  you  Wed. 
night.  We  can  let  Twombly  in  on  a  quarter-interest  or 
not,  just  as  you  think  best.  If  you  've  turned  up  the 
actual  ore  of  the  Ella  Grace  vein,  we  don't  need  any 
outside  aid.  So  long. 

Yours,  Doc. 


XV 

ON  THE   GRIZZLY   BEAR  TRAIL 

JIM,  imperturbable  and  serene,  met  the 
party  at  the  station.  He  had  gone  back  to 
his  rightful  character,  and  looked  very  hand 
some  in  a  loose  blue  shirt,  broad  white  hat, 
and  dark  trousers  belted  at  the  waist. 

"  Howdy,  folks,  howdy  ! "  he  said  in  general 
greeting,  and  shook  hands  all  around  with 
out  hurry  or  embarrassment.  "  Glad  to  see 
you  all  safe.  I  've  herded  the  peaks  all  the 
week  fer  ye.  They  're  all  here." 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Matteson,  how  cool  you  look ! " 
said  Bessie.  "And  oh,  is  n't  it  wonderful 
here ! " 

Mrs.  Ramsdell  was  gasping,  also.  "  It  is 
like  the  Alps.  No  wonder  you  grew  enthu 
siastic  about  it." 

"By  Jove  !  "  called Twombly,  "it 's  more  like 
the  Andes.  You  know,  I  'd  no  idea  it  was  to 
be  like  this." 


ON  THE  GRIZZLY  BEAR  TRAIL  341 

"Where  is  the  mine?  Can  we  see  it  from 
here  ?  "  asked  Bessie,  eagerly. 

"  Now,  doc,  I  reckon  you  'd  better  corral 
this  herd  of  tenderfeet  and  get  'em  off  the 
platform,"  said  Jim.  "The  'bus  is  waitin1  to 
take  you  all  to  a  hotel ;  and  I  —  " 

"  A  hotel !  "  cried  Bessie.  "  Oh,  I  thought 
we  were  going  to  camp  out  in  the  woods." 

"  Time  enough  for  that,"  put  in  the  doctor. 
"  I  want  to  see  one  square  meal  at  the  Oc 
cidental  before  getting  down  to  beans  and 
bacon.  That  buffet-car  lunch  was  a  hollow 
mockery." 

Jim  bundled  them  all  into  the  'bus  with 
out  ceremony,  and  they  were  at  the  hotel 
before  Bessie  had  time  to  exclaim  twice.  No 
sooner  were  they  in  their  rooms  than  the 
women  began  again  to  cry  out  and  exult  over 
the  splendor  of  the  mountains.  They  ran 
out  upon  the  piazza  to  watch  the  light  as  it 
climbed  the  highest  slopes  and  lighted  them 
into  unspeakable  glory,  second  only  to  the 
clouds  themselves.  The  women  stood  with 
clasped  hands,  but  not  in  silence. 

"  Is  n't  it  heavenly !  Oh,  if  I  could  only 
paint  it  before  it  goes ! "  Bessie  murmured 
in  a  sort  of  awe. 


342  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

"  I  begin  to  understand  why  Willard  al 
ways  runs  away  to  the  mountains  when  he 
has  a  moment's  leisure,"  said  Mrs.  Ramsdell. 
"  I  came  to  Denver  with  him  once,  but  de 
clined  'to  go  farther.  I  had  no  conception  of 
this." 

"Was  n't  he  fine?"  Bessie  said  musingly. 

"  Who,  dear  ?  " 

"  Why — Jim,  of  course." 

"  Oh,  yes,  indeed  !  He  looks  at  home  out 
here,  and  has  quite  forgotten  his  London 
trip,  I  hope.  I  like  his  rugged  strength." 

"  So  do  I,"  replied  Bessie.  "  But  I  never 
can  forgive  him  for  running  away  without 
saying  good-by  to  me." 

"Well,  you  know  I  never  blamed  him  very 
much.  You  certainly  flirted  unconscionably 
with  Mr.  Twombly  that  night." 

"  Well,  suppose  I  did  ?  There  was  that  Lon 
don  affair  to  be  explained,  and  Mr.  Matteson 
did  n't  appear  to  think  it  worth  while  to  refer 
to  it  at  all." 

"  Perhaps  it  was  a  painful  subject." 

"You  said  that  before,"  said  Bessie,  pout 
ing.  "  I  don't  like  it.  I  don't  see  why  it 
should  be  painful.  If  he  did  n't  encourage 
her,  then  his  conscience  is  clear." 


ON  THE  GRIZZLY  BEAR  TRAIL  343 

Ramsdell  came  out  on  the  piazza,  smiling 
and  rubbing  his  hands  as  if  he  were  the 
proprietor  of  the  view  and  anxious  to  sell  it. 

"  Well,  girls,  what  do  you  think  of  this  ? 
Up  to  the  advance  notice?" 

"  Oh,  it  is  beyond  anything !  " 

"  Wait  till  you  tread  the  Grizzly  Bear  trail ; 
then  you  '11  shout." 

"  We  will  not  wait.  We  are  going  to  shout 
now,"  replied  Bessie.  "There  can't  be  any 
thing  finer  than  this.  It  is  impossible." 

"Where  is  Jim?  "  asked  Mrs.  Ramsdell. 

"  Gone  up  the  trail." 

Bessie's  face  lengthened.  "Why  did  he 
run  away  again  ?  " 

"  To  get  out  of  danger,  I  reckon." 

"  Danger !     What  danger?  " 

"  I  don't  know ;  but  I  think  he  was  tempted 
to  kill  Twombly.  But,  girls,  I  Ve  got  great 
news  —  "  he  lowered  his  voice. 

"What  is  it?" 

"The  Ella  Grace  has  struck  a  wonderful 
vein  of  free-milling  ore  and  doubled  the  value 
of  our  claim.  We  don't  need  Twombly  at 
all." 

"  Oh,  goody,  goody  !  "  Bessie  began  to 
dance.  "  I  knew  I  'd  bring  good  luck." 


344  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"But,  Willard,"  said  Mrs.  Ramsdell,  "I 
don't  see  —  why  that  should  — " 

"  Because,  my  dear,  the  Ella  Grace  and  the 
Concordia  are  now  on  the  same  vein,  and  we 
are  in  exact  line.  We  thought  we  had  the 
same  vein  as  the  Concordia,  but  we  did  n't 
know  it.  Now  we  are  certain,  and  Jim  has 
an  offer  from  the  Concordia  people  of  half  a 
million  for  a  half-interest." 

The  women  stared  in  silence  for  a  moment ; 
then  Bessie  said  : 

"A  half-million!  And  half  of  that  is 
Jim's  ? " 

"Now  will  you  be  good!"  exclaimed  the 
doctor.  "  I  guess  Twombly's  nose  is  awry. 
But  let  me  tell  you  this,  my  girl :  you  've  got 
to  eat  humble  hoe-cake  with  Jim." 

"  Well,  I  don't  think  I  shall.  Let  him  take 
his  gold  and  go  to  England  and  get  that '  so 
ciety  woman '  if  he  wishes.  I  won't  put  a 
straw  in  his  way." 

"  If  you  put  a  balsam-fir  in  his  way  he  'd 
jump  it,  I  reckon,"  laughed  the  doctor,  in  boy 
ish  glee.  "  But  come,  supper  is  waiting  below. 
We  must  eat  to  live  if  we  live  to  eat.  All  the 
world  is  ours  to-night.  To-morrow  we  will 
go  to  see  our  golden  mountain." 


ON   THE   GRIZZLY   BEAR  TRAIL  345 

Twombly  came  down  to  supper  looking 
very  well  cared  for  indeed ;  but  Bessie  was 
thinking  of  Jim,  and  of  how  graceful  and  big 
and  natural\\&  looked.  He  fitted  into  the  land 
scape,  while  Twombly  grew  more  and  more 
unpleasantly  artificial  by  contrast,  and  his  at 
tentions  at  the  moment  were  wearisome.  She 
was  bitterly  disappointed  in  Jim.  If  he  had 
only  shown  some  constraint ;  but  he  did  not. 
On  the  contrary,  he  was  perfectly  at  his  ease, 
and  his  eyes  looked  into  hers  like  those  of  a 
casual  acquaintance.  He  did  not  seem  to 
notice  what  she  wore  or  —  or  —  anything. 
He  did  n't  seem  to  care  what  any  one  thought 
or  felt. 

"Jim  will  be  down  in  the  morning,"  the 
doctor  was  saying,  "  and  we  '11  all  go  up  to 
the  mine  and  take  dinner.  He  had  to  go 
home  to  set  a  ham  a-b'ilin'  and  wash  up  the 
table-linen.  He  's  profoundly  titivated  at  the 
idea  of  having  a  couple  of  women  to  dinner." 

"  He  did  n't  look  it,"  replied  Mrs.  Ramsdell. 
"  He  seemed  very  much  in  his  element." 

"  I  don't  think  he  cares  in  the  least  about 
our  coming,"  said  Bessie. 

"If  he  did  he  would  n't  show  it,"  replied 
the  doctor. 


346  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

After  supper  they  all  went  out  and  strolled 
up  a  side  street  to  a  little  knoll  which  com 
manded  a  view  of  the  valley  and  the  town, 
and  there  sat  to  watch  the  sun  go  down.  For 
the  most  part  they  sat  in  silence,  while  the 
gloom  deepened  over  the  river  and  the  lesser 
peaks  grew  cold,  like  torches  blown  out  one 
by  one. 

The  valley  was  nearly  circular  in  shape,  and 
had  been  formed,  apparently,  by  the  coming 
together  of  two  swift  streams.  "These  first 
cliffs  are  three  thousand  feet  in  almost  sheer 
rise,  while  the  true  rim  of  the  caflon  or  valley, 
that  dove-gray  amphitheater,  is  five  thousand 
feet  higher  than  where  we  sit ;  and  lastly, 
that  peak,  old  Lizard  Head,  is  seven  thousand 
feet  above  us."  The  doctor  gave  these  figures 
with  a  sort  of  proprietary  gusto.  "  This  is 
the  Wagon  Wheel,  and  that  is  the  Gap.  The 
Rio  Grande  enters  the  Gap  and  stops.  When 
the  Rio  Grande  stops  it  is  for  cause.  There 
is  no  other  outlet,  save  by  burro-trail." 

"What  is  a  burro-trail?"  asked  Bessie. 

"You  '11  know  to-morrow.  And  put  on 
your  divided  skirts.  Jim  will  put  you  on  a 
man's  saddle;  it  is  n't  safe  to  ride  the  Grizzly 
Bear  trail  woman  wise." 


ON  THE  GRIZZLY  BEAR  TRAIL  347 

The  women  looked  at  each  other  slyly,  as 
if  to  say,  "Well,  now  the  trail  is  upon  us." 

Suddenly,  during  a  pause  in  their  conver 
sation,  a  faint  crackling,  rattling  noise  was 
heard,  and  a  far-off  halloo.  These  sounds 
seemed  above  them  on  the  almost  perpen 
dicular  wall  of  the  mountain. 

"  What  is  that  ?  "  both  women  inquired. 

The  doctor  listened.  "  Sounds  like  a  burro- 
train."  He  listened  again.  "  That 's  what  it 
is  —  a  burro-train  on  the  North  Star  trail." 

The  women  rose  and  looked  upward.  ' '  Wil- 
lard,"  said  Mrs.  Ramsdell,  "you  don't  mean  to 
tell  me  that  there  is  a  living  creature  up  there 
—  a  four-footed  one  ?  " 

"  I  suspect  there  are  about  twenty,"  he 
replied,  scanning  the  cliff.  "There  they 
come ! "  he  exclaimed,  pointing  to  a  jutting 
shoulder  of  the  cliff.  "  See  them  ! "  Round 
a  lofty  point  the  train  of  patient  little  animals 
crept,  their  sharp  hoofs  tossing  the  pebbles 
in  their  path. 

"  Why,  they  look  like  lambs  !  " 

"  How  little  they  are  !"  exclaimed  Bessie. 

"  They  are  about  a  third  of  a  mile  above  us," 
laughed  the  doctor.  "  See  the  man  !  He  's 
little,  too.  It 's  a  long  way  up  to  them." 


348  HER     MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

Thenceforth  the  sunset  was  forgotten,  and 
the  women  watched  the  descending  train  with 
breathless  anxiety. 

"Oh,  the  poor  little  things!  Suppose  one 
of  them  should  fall!" 

"  Why  do  they  weave  back  and  forth  that 
way  ?  "  asked  Bessie. 

"  No  other  way  to  get  down.  That  's  the 
way  the  trail  runs  on  steep  slopes.  They 
could  n't  come  head  on." 

"  A  trail !     Is  that  a  trail  ?  " 

"That's  a  trail." 

"  Is  the  trail  to  our  mine  like  that?  " 

"  Yes,  only  worse." 

Mrs.  Ramsdell  fetched  a  deep  sigh.  "  Well, 
I  guess  I  don't  care  to  see  the  mine,  thank 
you." 

The  doctor  changed  his  tune.  "  Oh,  it  is 
by  no  means  as  dangerous  as  it  looks,"  he 
hastened  to  say. 

"  I  'm  not  afraid,"  said  Bessie;  "only  I  do 
think  it  mean  to  load  those  little  things  and 
then  hurry  them  down  such  steep  places. 
Oh,  see  them  go  round  that  rock  !  Why, 
they  're  right  on  the  edge  of  it.  Oh,  dear ! 
They  '11  surely  fall." 

"  Don't  worry,"  the  doctor   said  reassur- 


ON  THE  GRIZZLY  BEAR  TRAIL  349 

ingly.  "  You  could  n't  throw  one  of  those 
little  chaps  from  the  trail.  They  go  over 
that  rock  twice  a  day  all  the  year  round,  and 
never  slip  a  cog." 

"This  is  all  immensely  foreign  to  my  no 
tion  of  America,"  put  in  Twombly.  "  If  that 
driver  were  dressed  in  a  conical  hat  and  wore 
a  gay  sash,  I  could  imagine  myself  in  Spain. 
I  'd  forgotten  that  your  miners  use  these 
little  asses." 

"  We  borrowed  most  of  our  packing  ideas 
from  Mexico,  and  these  burros  come  from 
the  Mexican  settlements  to  the  south  of  us." 

At  last,  moving  like  some  smoothly  geared 
articulated  machines,  the  little  beasts  came 
past.  Their  heads  were  low,  their  ears  flapped 
rhythmically,  and  their  little  feet  made  a  pat 
tering  noise.  They  bore  their  burdens  with 
out  apparent  effort,  and  yet  each  carried,  the 
doctor  said,  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of 
ore. 

Not  till  they  had  passed  did  the  women 
give  another  thought  to  the  mighty  pageantry 
of  flushing,  fading,  passing  color;  and  as  it 
was  growing  dark  and  cool,  they  began  to 
walk  slowly  back  toward  their  hotel,  cloyed 
with  color  and  the  grandiose,  glad  of  the 


350  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

commonplace  walls  and  furniture  of  their 
rooms. 

Meanwhile  Jim,  on  his  way  up  the  trail,  was 
thinking  of  the  change  in  Bessie.  The  sight 
of  her  had  shaken  all  his  firm  resolutions,  and 
started  him  dreaming  of  a  home,  and  a  wife 
to  light  and  warm  the  home.  Maybe  the 
doctor  was  right.  "I  '11  find  out,"  he  said,  in 
answer  to  his  doubts. 

At  breakfast  next  morning  Mrs.  Ramsdell 
flatly  refused  to  consider  mounting  a  man's 
saddle. 

"  Very  well,"  replied  her  husband ;  "  then 
you  must  walk  all  the  bad  places,  and  that 
means  nearly  three  miles.  I  'd  advise  stout 
shoes  in  any  case ;  the  road  is  rough." 

"  I  'm  not  afraid,"  said  Bessie.  "  Every 
body  rides  that  way  out  here." 

"  I  don't  care;  that  does  n't  help  me  any," 
Mrs.  Ramsdell  replied. 

Once  outside  the  hotel,  they  found  Jim 
Imsy  with  a  little  herd  of  saddle-horses.  He 
was  going  from  one  to  the  other,  examining 
stirrups  and  straining  at  the  cinches.  He 
wore  a  loose  blue  shirt  with  a  small  red-brown 
tie,  and  his  trousers  were  tucked  into  a  sort 
of  tan-colored  boot  with  side  laces,  the  mod- 


ON   THE   GRIZZLY   BEAR  TRAIL  351 

ern  miner's  boot.  He  looked  extremely  alert 
and  very  handsome  and  masterful  as  he  moved 
deftly  about  his  work. 

"  Good  morning,  Mr.  Matteson.  Which  is 
my  pony  ?  "  called  Bessie. 

"  Right  here,"  he  replied,  patting  a  small 
roan  mare  dozing  with  lax  lips.  "  Safe  as  a 
clock." 

As  Jim  took  charge  of  the  company  his 
thought  returned  to  the  make-believe  pack- 
train  he  had  organized  and  directed  for  Mary, 
and  it  seemed  to  him  at  the  moment  too 
absurd  to  have  even  been  a  dream.  It  was 
of  another  world.  He  shook  himself  clear  of 
the  recollection,  and  his  voice  was  clear  and 
jovial  as  he  said : 

"  Doctor,  you  take  the  bay,  and  put  Mrs. 
Ramsdell  on  the  sorrel.  Twombly,  you  jump 
that  pinto,  and  bring  up  the  rear." 

"  Are  n't  you  going  to  ride  ?  "  asked  Bessie. 

"No;  I  'm  going  to  walk  and  look  after 
the  rest  of  you  tenderfeet,"  he  replied.  "All 
ready,  now."  He  put  down  his  hand,  and 
she  put  her  foot  into  it  readily  enough ;  but 
her  heart  filled  with  a  sudden  timidity  as  she 
felt  the  power  in  his  hand  and  arm. 

The  moment  she  touched  the  saddle  she 


352  HER    MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

flushed.  "  Oh,  I  forgot.  It 's  a  man's  sad 
dle;  I  must  get  on  differently.  Look  the 
other  way,  please." 

Jim  smiled,  and  did  as  he  was  bid.  When 
he  faced  her  again  she  was  seated  astride, 
very  self-conscious  and  flushed,  but  deter 
mined. 

Jim  looked  at  her  as  though  nothing  unusual 
had  been  said.  "  Now  are  you  all  right  ? 
Can  you  stand  in  your  stirrups  ?  "  She  rose 
on  tiptoe.  "That 's  about  right.  Now  take 
the  reins  in  your  left  hand.  I  '11  lead  the  old 
mare,  so  you  need  n't  bother  to  rein.  Just 
take  it  as  easy  as  you  can."  He  had  time 
now  to  look  at  the  others.  "  Are  you  all  set, 
doc  ?  Line  up,  boys  !  " 

As  the  horses  fell  into  line,  Bessie  turned  a 
radiant  face  to  the  doctor.  "  Oh,  is  n't  this 
fine ! " 

"  Have  all  the  joy  you  can  now,"  he  malev 
olently  replied.  "We  may  be  obliged  to 
blindfold  you  both  before  we  round  Hell's 
Corner." 

"  No,  sir,"  cried  Mrs.  Ramsdell ;  "I  go  to 
my  destruction  with  my  eyes  open." 

"As  you  prefer,"  the  doctor  replied,  as  if 
yielding  a  point.  For  the  first  half-hour  they 


ON  THE  GRIZZLY  BEAR  TRAIL  353 

kept  the  broad  wagon- road,  and  Bessie  ex 
claimed  :  "  Oh,  this  is  splendid !  I  like  trail- 
ing." 

Jim  smiled  up  at  her.  "When  you  get 
back  to  this  road  again  you  '11  know  what  a 
mountain  trail  is." 

"  I  want  to  know.  I  want  you  to  teach 
me,"  she  replied.  Her  eyes  fell  before  Jim's 
searching  glance. 

A  little  farther  on  he  halted  the  train  and 
came  alongside  her  pony  to  tighten  the  cinch. 
"We  hit  the  trail  now,"  he  said. 

The  doctor  dismounted,  and  tugged  at  the 
main  cinch  of  his  own  saddle.  Twombly  was 
left  to  take  care  of  himself,  but  he  seemed  to 
be  getting  on  very  well. 

"  Do  you  see  that  line  across  that  black 
slide  ? "  asked  Jim  of  Bessie. 

"  Away  up  there  ?     Yes." 

"  We  cross  there." 

"  Oh,  no ;  it  can't  be  possible  ! " 

"  All  ready  ?  Forward,  march  !  "  called  Jim, 
and  his  voice  rang  out  with  such  determina 
tion  as  men  voice  when  going  into  battle.  He 
intended  Bessie  to  feel  the  solemnity  of  enter 
ing  upon  the  Grizzly  Bear  trail.  He  led  the 
way  into  an  obscure,  narrow  path  which  left 


354  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

the  road  and  angled  away  among  some  small 
pines  and  shrubs.  It  ran  for  some  minutes  to 
the  right,  then  turned  abruptly  to  the  left,  and 
climbed  again.  As  she  rose,  a  sort  of  exalta 
tion  seized  upon  the  girl,  and  she  grew  pale 
with  a  pallor  that  was  beautiful  to  see. 

"  Oh,  this  is  wonderful !  "  she  exclaimed  in 
a  voice  heard  only  by  Jim.  "  Now  I  under 
stand  your  love  for  the  high  country." 

He  looked  back  at  her  with  a  smile  which 
she  could  not  interpret.  "  Wait  till  we  put 
the  clouds  below  us,"  he  replied. 

The  hills  she  had  considered  mountains 
sank  low,  dwarfed  by  the  kingly  peaks  that 
rose  beyond  them.  The  town  looked  like  a 
handful  of  a  child's  building-blocks.  The  air 
grew  perceptibly  cooler  and  crisper.  Immense 
snow-fields  flashed  into  view,  lying  like  capes 
of  ermine  on  the  northern  side  of  looming 
peaks.  Faint  clouds  began  to  come  into 
being  far  to  the  south,  and  still  the  pathway 
climbed. 

Just  as  Bessie  was  getting  used  to  the 
doubling  of  the  trail,  they  came  out  upon  an 
open  space,  the  track  of  an  avalanche,  it 
seemed. 

"  Now    don't     be     scared,"     called     Jim. 


ON  THE  GRIZZLY  BEAR  TRAIL  355 

"Whatever  happens,  hang  to  your  saddle  — 
and  nothing  will  happen.  We  've  got  to 
cross  this  slide." 

The  trail  led  nearly  athwart  the  loose  bed 
of  shale  which  hung  but  insecurely  on  the 
slope.  To  Bessie  each  step  of  her  horse 
seemed  to  threaten  disaster.  Below,  for 
hundreds  of  feet,  the  slide  ran  so  steep  that 
it  seemed  a  touch  would  set  it  in  motion, 
carrying  everything  before  it. 

The  girl  clung  to  the  pommel  of  her  sad 
dle  and  looked  straight  ahead,  finding  comfort 
and  security  in  the  sight  of  Jim's  powerful 
and  confident  figure.  It  seemed  to  her  that 
danger  thickened  at  every  step;  but  Jim 
called  back  cheerily :  "  Don't  be  scared. 
It  's  all  right.  It  looks  worse  than  it  is." 

Something  in  his  face  and  voice  made  her 
very  happy,  and  she  smiled  with  a  brave  little 
contortion  of  the  lips,  which  moved  him  deeply. 

When  they  reached  the  firm  trail  beyond 
the  slide,  he  halted  and  came  back  to  her 
side. 

"  How  do  you  like  it —  so  far?  " 

"I  don't  like  'slides.'  Are  we  over  the 
worst  of  it  ?  " 

A  scream  from  Mrs.  Ramsdell  prevented 


356  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

his  answer.  The  doctor,  walking  beside  her 
horse,  had  crowded  him  off  the  path,  and  he 
was  sliding  slowly  down  the  rattling  shale. 

"  Hang  on  !  "  shouted  Jim.  "  He  '11  come 
up  again." 

The  horse  realized  the  situation,  and, 
struggling  bravely,  soon  regained  the  path. 
When  they  reached  firm  footing,  Mrs.  Rams- 
dell  turned  a  white,  accusing  face  upon  her 
husband. 

"  Willard,  I  am  going  to  walk." 

"  I  would  n't,  my  dear.  You  're  over  the 
worst  of  it,"  he  replied,  and  persuaded  her 
to  remain  in  the  saddle  while  they  began  to 
climb  again. 

"  Where  are  we  going  ? "  called  Bessie. 
"  I  can't  keep  direction,  for  the  life  of  me." 

"We  turn  right  under  that  ledge,"  said 
Jim,  pointing  to  a  huge  jutting  cliff.  "Right 
where  you  see  that  man  the  trail  rounds  the 
elbow." 

"  How  small  he  looks !  He  's  no  bigger 
than  a  pin.  Is  that  the  very  top  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no ;  but  the  trail  is  comparatively 
level  after  we  reach  that.  It  's  a  long  way 
to  the  mine  yet." 

The  mounting  was  now  so  rapid  that  Bessie 


ON   THE  GRIZZLY  BEAR  TRAIL  357 

was  forced  to  cling  to  the  saddle  with  both 
hands,  while  the  mare  toiled  terribly,  lunging 
upward  for  a  few  rods,  and  stopping  on  the 
turns  to  rest.  These  moments  gave  time  for 
a  word  or  two,  and  each  moment  Jim  grew 
distinctly  more  lover-like.  He  was  indeed 
powerfully  moved  by  the  eager,  wonder- filled 
face  of  the  girl,  who  looked  like  some  adorable 
child,  with  her  hair  blowing  about  her  flushed 
cheeks. 

"Is  n't  it  nice  to  think  the  little  burros 
don't  have  to  carry  their  sacks  of  ore  up 
these  awful  trails  ?  " 

Jim  did  not  tell  her  that  they  carried  lum 
ber  and  sawmills,  grindstones  and  stoves,  and 
big  plates  of  boiler- iron,  and  boxes  and  barrels. 
He  left  her  in  unpained  ignorance. 

At  last  they  reached  the  big  rock,  and  Jim 
again  halted  and  came  back  to  say,  "  You  'd 
better  get  off  and  rest,"  and  putting  his  arm 
around  her,  took  her  from  the  pony  and  set 
her  on  her  feet,  all  in  so  matter-of-fact  a 
way  that  she  could  not  cry  out  or  even  refer 
to  it 

"  Perhaps  he  thinks  that  is  the  way  to  help 
ladies  off,"  she  thought. 

"  Now  we  are  going  to  cover  a  piece  of  trail 


358  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

that  will  make  you  nervous ;  but  you  '11  be  all 
right  if  you  stay  right  by  your  horse.  You 
can  walk  if  you  feel  like  it ;  but  it  's  just  as 
safe  on  the  horse,  and  a  mighty  sight  easier. 
What  do  you  say  ?  " 

"  I  '11  do  as  you  think  best,"  she  replied; 
"  but  I  thought  you  said  the  trail  was  level  ?  " 

"It  is ;  but  it  's  a  little  rough  underfoot, 
and  almighty  mean  to  look  at." 

"  If  you  lead  my  horse  I  won't  be  scared," 
she  said,  with  a  smile  which  made  him  very 
tender  of  her.  He  turned  to  Mrs.  Ramsdell. 
"  I  'd  advise  you  to  walk,  unless  you  feel  all 
right  in  the  head." 

Mrs.  Ramsdell  stared  with  round  and 
frightened  eyes. 

"Why,  please?" 

"  The  ticklish  part  of  the  trail  is  to  come," 
said  the  doctor. 

"  I  thought  you  said  the  worst  was  over." 

"  Reckon  you  'd  better  ride  ahead,  doc,  and 
let  her  walk  just  ahead  of  me,  so  I  can  keep 
an  eye  on  her." 

The  women  looked  at  each  other  in  a  word 
less  communication  of  terror.  Then  Mrs. 
Ramsdell  faced  her  husband.  "  Willard,  what 
have  you  got  us  into  ?  I  'm  going  back." 


ON  THE  GRIZZLY  BEAR  TRAIL  359 

Bessie  deserted  her.  "  Oh,  no.  Let 's  go 
on.  I  'm  not  afraid." 

"That 's  the  talk,"  said  Jim. 

Twombly,  who  was  sticking  to  his  saddle 
to  the  dismay  of  his  horse,  called  out :  "  Bravo ! 
Let  us  proceed." 

The  doctor  was  disturbed.  "You  must  n't 
turn  back  now,  when  the  very  finest  scenery 
is  coming.  My  dear,  be  a  brave  lady." 

"  Scenery  is  of  no  value  to  a  lady  with  a 
broken  neck,"  replied  Mrs.  Ramsdell.  "  If  I 
go  on  I  shall  walk." 

The  doctor  helped  his  wife  to  the  ground, 
and  then  rode  by,  leaving  her  horse  to  follow 
just  ahead  of  Twombly.  He  was  a  little  dis 
gusted  with  her  unreasonable  terror. 

"  Line  up  !  Line  up  !  "  called  Jim,  and  the 
horses  began  to  move.  "  Fall  in  just  ahead 
of  me,"  he  said  to  Mrs.  Ramsdell,  "  and  look 
straight  ahead.  I  '11  take  care  of  you." 

Bessie  fixed  her  eyes  on  the  doctor's  pony 
and  rode  resolutely  on.  As  he  reached  the 
big  rock  the  pony  seemed  to  be  walking 
calmly  out  into  space  to  his  destruction ;  but 
just  on  the  verge,  while  outlined  on  the  sky 
like  a  figure  on  a  monument,  he  turned  on  his 
hoofs  as  if  on  a  pivot,  and  disappeared.  A 


360  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

moment  later  the  girl  found  herself  gazing 
over  her  horse's  head  into  an  abyss  a  thousand 
feet  deep.  Her  scalp  lifted  in  a  spasm  of 
mortal  terror ;  she  clutched  her  steed  by  the 
mane,  and  bowed  her  head.  As  she  did  so  a 
vast  report  broke  from  an  unseen  mine  and 
went  crashing  away  from  cliff  to  cliff  with  por 
tentous  rumbling  as  of  certain  doom.  For  a 
moment  the  girl  believed  she  had  fallen  from 
the  cliff;  then  she  became  aware  of  the  calm 
movement  of  her  horse,  which  neither  started 
nor  hastened  her  step  at  the  monstrous 
crash. 

Jim  was  saying,  "  Go  on !  There  is  no 
danger  if  you  walk  straight."  He  had  one 
hand  under  Mrs.  Ramsdell's  shoulder,  and 
was  steadying  her.  She  seemed  about  to 
faint. 

The  trail  was  indeed  fearsome.  It  appeared 
to  be  nothing  but  a  seam  in  a  prodigious 
wall  of  rock  three  thousand  feet  in  height. 
A  stratum  of  slate  had  been  picked  out  and 
crushed  with  hammers  to  make  a  pack-trail 
which  was  wide  enough,  where  they  stood, 
for  safe  passage,  but  appeared  to  narrow  in 
the  distance  to  a  path  as  dangerous  as  a  half- 
inch  cable  swung  above  Niagara.  Far  down 


ON  THE  GRIZZLY  BEAR  TRAIL  361 

below,  the  Grizzly  Bear  was  roaring,  and  around 
old  Lizard  Head  the  thunder-clouds  were  de 
veloping  with  enormous  power  and  celerity. 

Jim  looked  back  at  Bessie.  "  It 's  all  right. 
I  won't  get  you  into  danger.  Come  on." 

Mrs.  Ramsdell  tottered  forward,  encour 
aged  by  her  husband  and  by  Jim,  until  she 
reached  a  broader  portion  of  the  ledge,  when 
she  regained  a  little  of  her  confidence. 

"  Keep  your  eyes  high  !  Don't  look  down!" 
called  Jim,  and  Bessie  lifted  her  head.  A  sud 
den  exaltation  seized  upon  her.  The  roll 
ing  clouds  on  the  high  peaks,  the  roaring 
of  the  savage  stream  far  below,  the  sound  of 
the  wind  on  the  opposite  wall  of  the  canon, 
the  stupendous  heights  and  depths,  moved  her 
so  profoundly  that  she  forgot  her  fears  and 
rode  forward  with  hands  clutched  in  the  hair 
of  her  loyal  mount.  Whenever  she  felt  sick 
with  terror  of  the  abyss,  she  fixed  her  eyes  on 
Jim's  tall  form,  and  was  made  brave  by  admi 
ration  of  his  grace  and  power. 

Twombly  rode  along,  exclaiming  at  inter 
vals:  "  By  Jove,  now,  this  is  impressive  !  It 's 
like  the  Andes.  How  high  are  we  now  ?  "  he 
called  to  Jim. 

"  Less  than  ten  thousand  feet,"  replied  Jim. 


362  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"The  trail  is  perfectly  level  now  for  two 
miles,"  he  explained  to  Bessie. 

As  she  gained  in  confidence,  the  girl  began 
to  look  up  and  down  and  to  measure  the  im 
mensity  of  the  mountain  wall,  round  which 
the  trail  ran  like  a  girdle. 

Suddenly  a  piercing,  peculiar  whistle 
sounded,  followed  instantly  by  a  terrific  crash 
of  thunder,  out  of  which  Jim's  voice  rose : 
"  Turn  out,  doc !  " 

"All  right,"  called  the  doctor. 

"  What  is  it?  "  asked  Mrs.  Ramsdell,  whose 
fright  returned  in  full  flood.  "  Was  it  a  mine 
exploding  ?  " 

"A  burro-train.  We  must  reach  a  'turn 
out'  before  they  do." 

Across  a  side  canon  and  round  a  sharp 
point,  a  drove  of  laden  burros  crawled  in 
single  file.  It  was  precisely  as  if  they  were 
•walking  an  invisible  tight-rope.  They  slid 
across  the  face  of  the  mountain  like  a  string 
of  beads  on  an  oiled  wire. 

At  the  head  of  the  side  canon  a  widening 
of  the  roadway  permitted  the  two  trains  to 
pass,  and  there  the  doctor  drew  up.  Riding 
his  horse  to  the  very  edge  of  the  cliff,  he 
dismounted,  and  came  back  to  meet  his  wife. 


ON  THE  GRIZZLY  BEAR  TRAIL  363 

"  Come,  my  dear ;  there  is  n't  a  particle  of 
danger." 

Jim  came  back  to  Bessie's  aid.  "  You  'd 
better  get  off,  I  reckon.  It 's  a  tight  squeeze, 
and  sometimes  those  little  jackasses  get  to 
crowding." 

After  helping  her  to  alight,  he  led  her 
horse  close  to  the  doctor's  beast,  and  then, 
taking  the  girl  by  the  arm,  stood  beside  her 
and  very  close  to  her,  with  the  horses  crowded 
to  the  edge  of  the  rock. 

Bessie  looked  up  at  him  archly,  expecting 
to  meet  his  glance,  but  he  was  looking  away  at 
the  oncoming  burros  with  an  anxious  wrinkle 
on  his  brow.  As  the  little  beasts  caught 
sight  of  the  women  they  began  to  weave 
about  and  point  their  ears  with  concern. 

"  Whoo-oosh  !  "  yelled  the  driver.  "  Go  on 
there,  you  fools  !  " 

"  Don't  crowd  'em  !  "  shouted  Jim.  "  Give 
'em  time.  Don't  you  see  the  women  here  ? 
Give  'em  time." 

Bessie  realized  that  it  was  not  quite  so  safe 
as  Jim  had  tried  to  make  her  feel  it  to  be. 

"  Don't  take  hold  of  the  horse,"  he  com 
manded.  "Take  hold  of  me.  Don't  get 
scared  if  they  crowd  us  a  little." 


364  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

The  leader  of  the  train,  with  bright  eyes 
fixed  on  Mrs.  Ramsdell's  skirt,  sidled  by ;  but 
the  second  beast  paused,  and  those  behind 
pressed  on. 

"  Whoo-oosh  !  There,  go  on  !  "  yelled  the 
driver. 

"  Don't  hurry  'em,  you  idiot !  Give  'em  a 
chance,"  called  Jim  again.  "  Stand  close,  doc. 
Keep  quiet,  everybody.  They  '11  pass  in  a 
minute." 

Twombly  had  dismounted,  and  stood  beside 
his  horse  also,  and  the  three  men  formed  a 
buffer  between  the  burros  and  the  women  and 
horses. 

"  No  cause  to  worry,"  said  Jim  to  Bessie. 
"  I  won't  take  you  where  I  run  any  chance  of 
losing  you,"  and  something  in  his  glance  made 
her  forget  where  she  stood.  Twombly  was 
as  if  he  had  never  been. 

Twice  Jim  laid  his  hand  on  a  crowding, 
shuffling  beast  and  held  him  from  the  two 
women,  and  at  last  the  jam  gave  way.  The 
little  stream  of  gray  and  brown  mules  passed 
on,  and  the  way  was  clear. 

Mrs.  Ramsdell  was  sick  with  terror,  but  a 
knowledge  that  it  was  now  as  easy  to  go  for 
ward  as  to  turn  back  nerved  her  to  complete 


ON  THE  GRIZZLY  BEAR  TRAIL  365 

the  journey.  It  was  a  tremendously  dramatic 
half-hour.  The  sunlight  failed  suddenly  as  a 
heavy  storm-cloud  swept  westward  of  Lizard 
Head,  and  pealing  thunder  broke  like  mon 
strous  cannons  from  the  heights.  The  scene 
that  had  been  so  radiant  with  beauty  be 
came  suddenly  cold,  gloomy,  and  illimitably 
threatening. 

At  last  they  swept  round  the  corner  of  the 
ledge  into  a  wooded,  grassy,  flowery  country, 
where  the  trail  was  a  smooth  purple  path 
winding  among  aspens  and  dwarf  oaks. 

"  Oh,  how  lovely  !  "  cried  Bessie,  and  Mrs. 
Ramsdell,  drawing  a  deep  sigh  of  relief,  was 
able  to  smile  faintly. 

Far  ahead  of  them  rose  a  great  peak,  seem 
ingly  at  the  head  of  the  grassy  valley,  which 
led  upward  at  an  easy  grade.  On  this  peak 
vivid  sunlight  lay  warm  and  golden.  All 
along  the  trail  flowers  waved  —  gentians, 
asters,  Indian  paint-brush,  sweet-williams. 
The  slopes  were  radiant  with  bloom,  and  the 
wind  in  the  aspens  was  as  gentle  as  a  baby's 
breath.  A  few  moments  later  the  sunlight 
came  racing  down  the  gulch,  and  the  world 
was  again  dazzling  with  light  and  odorous 
with  bloom. 


366  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"  There,"  called  the  doctor,  triumphantly, 
"  is  n't  this  worth  while  ?  " 

Mrs.  Ramsdell  could  not  instantly  throw 
off  her  terror,  but  Bessie  was  radiant  with 
delight.  She  asked  Jim  to  pick  some  flowers 
for  her,  and  he  obediently  did  so,  and  she 
stuck  some  in  the  band  of  his  hat,  and  the 
action  seemed  to  them  both  to  be  very  sig 
nificant.  Jim  was  finding  the  trail  more 
beautiful  than  ever  before  in  his  life.  It  was 
very  much  worth  while,  this  playing  guide  to 
a  pretty  girl. 

"  An  hour's  climb,  and  we  're  at  the  mine," 
said  he.  "  That  is  the  Concordia.  The  Ella 
Grace  is  over  the  ridge  to  the  left.  We  are 
between." 

THE  cabin  stood  where  a  poet  or  a  fastidious 
trailer  would  have  set  it,  on  a  wooded  terrace 
well  toward  the  head  of  the  canon,  and  about 
fifty  feet  above  the  stream.  From  the  door, 
range  after  range  of  peaks,  each  more  than 
fourteen  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  billowed 
'away,  gleaming  with  green  and  gold  and 
garnet,  mingled  with  snow,  over  which  the 
clouds  dropped  purple  shadows. 

"  Oh,   how  beautiful !  "    exclaimed  Bessie. 


ON  THE  GRIZZLY   BEAR  TRAIL  367 

"  I  thought  mountains  were  either  bare  or 
snowy.     These  are  lovely." 

Mrs.  Ramsdell,  having  come  safely  through 
deadly  perils,  was  also  disposed  to  enjoy  the 
scene  to  the  full. 

"  I  never  expect  to  see  it  again,"  she  said, 
after  admitting  the  beauty  of  the  view. 

"  Oh,  I  like  it !  May  I  come  again  ?  "" 
Bessie  asked  of  Jim. 

"Why,  sure.     Every  day,  if  you  like." 

"  And  I  want  to  climb  one  of  these  peaks. 
That  one  —  how  high  is  it  ?  " 

"Nearly  fifteen  thousand  feet  —  about  as 
high  as  the  Alps,"  replied  the  doctor. 

Bessie  stopped  suddenly  in  the  midst  of  her 
dancing,  and  laid  her  hand  on  her  breast. 
"What  's  the  matter  with  me,  doctor?  My 
throat  hurts  me,  and  so  does  my  head." 

"  That  's  the  rare  air,"  laughed  the  doctor. 
"  Better  not  get  too  ambitious.  Put  off  the 
climb  for  a  day  or  two." 

"  Oh,  the  poor  horses  !  Did  they  feel  this 
way  carrying  us  up?  And  you,  Mr.  Matte- 
son,  it  must  have  been  hard  on  you." 

Jim  smiled,  and  the  doctor  said :  "  This  is 
his  country;  he  's  used  to  it." 

"  Well,  now,  folks,"  said  Jim,  heartily,  "make 


368  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

yourselves  at  home  while  I  see  what  my 
Chinaman  is  doing  about  dinner.  Doc,  you 
might  take  the  girls  over  to  the  mine." 

"  No,  no !  "  cried  Mrs.  Ramsdell.  "  You 
must  show  us  the  mine.  It  would  n't  be  right 
for  anybody  else  to  do  so.  Don't  you  think 
so,  Bessie  ?  " 

"  Oh,  please  do,  Mr.  Matteson  ;  never  mind 
dinner.  No,  I  '11  tell  you,  aunty ;  let  's  help 
him  get  dinner,  and  then  we  '11  all  go  to  the 
mine." 

Jim  reluctantly  permitted  them  to  enter  the 
cabin,  which  was  built  of  the  fine,  straight 
boles  of  the  aspen,  and  was  cozily  set  on  the 
sunny  side  of  a  grove  of  stocky  pines.  It 
presented  indubitable  signs  of  having  been 
recently  swept  and  garnished.  A  smiling 
Chinaman  was  clattering  busily  about  on  the 
bare  floor  of  the  kitchen  lean-to,  which  Jim 
had  hastily  constructed  after  his  return. 
Savory  smells  issued  from  various  pots  and 
tins,  and  the  women  looked  at  each  other  with 
sly  grimaces  of  amusement  while  surveying 
the  housekeeping  methods  and  utensils. 

The  bunks  were  swung  up  against  the  wall. 
The  chairs  (which  were  made  of  long  slabs, 
with  a  shorter  slab  for  support)  were  freshly 


ON   THE   GRIZZLY   BEAR   TRAIL  369 

scoured,  and  a  big  table,  also  of  slabs,  filled 
the  center  of  the  room  and  supported  some 
heavy  crockery  and  tinware. 

"  Is  n't  it  all  delightfully  primitive  ? "  said 
Mrs.  Ramsdell.  "  I  'm  glad  I  lived  to  see  it. 
Who  made  the  chairs  ?  " 

Jim  looked  a  little  self-conscious.  "  I  did. 
Like  'em  ?  " 

"  I  think  they  are  wonderful.  How  did 
you  ever  think  of  leaning  two  sticks  together 
like  that?" 

The  doctor  interposed.  "  Come,  now,  I 
can't  have  Jim  take  undue  credit.  These  are 
the  regulation  miners'  chairs.  They  are  not 
original  with  Jim.  Nobody  knows  who  in 
vented  them." 

Twombly,  whom  they  had  for  the  moment 
quite  forgotten,  appeared  at  the  door  with  a 
silver-mounted  fishing-rod  in  his  hands.  "  Do 
you  know,  I  believe  I  '11  try  for  a  fish." 

"All  right,"  said  Jim,  cordially.  "This  is 
free  fishing.  No  Black  Moor  restrictions 
here.  Fish  in  the  ripples  if  you  want  a  trout. 
Mountain  trout  are  not  dead-water  fish." 

As  Twombly  spoke,  Jim's  mind  filled  with 
the  scenes  in  the  camp  trip  to  the  Black  Moor 
and  the  little  crawling  stream  wherein  Twom- 


J70  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

bly  had  angled  while  he  prepared  dinner  with 
Mary  looking  on ;  and  now,  with  Bessie's 
voice  mingling  with  the  roar  of  his  river, 
Mary  seemed  as  artificial  and  far  off  as  Eng 
land  herself,  deep  sunk  in  a  dim  country 
crowded  with  unaccountable  and  irritating 
figures  —  a  land  of  worry  and  of  doubt. 

He  had  sense  enough  to  perceive  the  vast 
difference  between  Bessie's  girlish  chatter 
and  the  half-satiric,  half-mournful  charm  of 
Mary's  speech  with  him.  Bessie  was  a  girl ; 
Mary  was  something  singularly  outside  wo 
mankind  as  he  conceived  it.  At  the  moment 
she  seemed  a  diseased,  unnatural  being. 

Bessie  noticed  his  sudden  abstraction. 
"What  are  you  thinking  of,  Mr.  Miner?" 

He  looked  up  with  a  sudden  smile.  "  I 
was  thinking  what  I  could  do  with  my  quar 
ter  of  the  million." 

"  Oh,  let  us  help  you  !  We  can  be  of  ser 
vice  there,  can't  we,  aunty  ?  " 

"  I  don't  think  Jim  will  lack  advisers  on 
that  score,"  Mrs.  Ramsdell  replied.  "We 
are  prepared  to  devote  a  good  deal  of  time 
to  helping  you  spend  money,"  she  added, 
turning  toward  Jim. 

Jim  shook  off  his  abstraction,  and  said : 


ON  THE  GRIZZLY  BEAR  TRAIL  371 

"Well,  now,  you  women-folks,  shoo  out  or 
here.  John  and  I  don't  want  any  of  your 
help " ;  and  spreading  his  arms,  he  drove 
them  out.  "  Go  set  on  a  bench  and  watch 
the  peaks  go  by,"  he  added. 

The  women  laughingly  obeyed,  and  while 
the  doctor  unsaddled  the  horses  and  picketed 
them  on  the  sunny  slope,  Mrs.  Ramsdell 
drew  Bessie  aside  and  opened  up  an  intimate 
conversation  : 

"  He  is  fine !  He  's  finer  than  ever  out 
here,  for  he  's  a  part  of  this  life.  He  seems 
very  glad  to  have  you  here,  and  quite  takes 
possession  of  you.  It  was  beautiful,  his 
care  of  you  on  the  trail  coming  up.  I 
could  see  that,  if  I  was  scared  nearly  out  of 
my  wits.  He  took  care  of  us  all.  Even 
Willard  depended  on  him." 

"He  did  n't  seem  to  watch  over  Mr. 
Twombly,"  said  Bessie,  with  a  malicious 
glitter  of  her  eyes. 

Mrs.  Ramsdell  smiled.  "  That  is  true.  He 
did  leave  Twombly  to  shift  for  himself;  and 
I  must  say  Mr.  Twombly  is  quite  capable  of 
caring  for  himself,  and  he  's  very  nice,  too  — 
not  a  bit  officious.  I  guess  that  he  under 
stands  that  Jim  '  has  the  inside  track,'  as  Wil- 


372  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

lard  says.  I  'm  sure  it  would  n't  require  any 
wonderful  insight  to  discover  Jim's  mind  in 
the  matter." 

Bessie  looked  away  at  the  splendid  peaks 
with  a  musing  smile  on  her  lips.  She  was 
very  happy,  and  she  wished  Mrs.  Ramsdell 
would  not  define  the  situation  too  exactly.  It 
was  so  much  lovelier  just  to  enjoy  it  and 
never,  never  put  it  into  words.  The  storm- 
clouds  still  circled  old  Lizard  Head  and  Ouray 
like  great  angry  birds  struggling  over  a  com 
mon  prey,  but  the  thunder  had  ceased.  Oc 
casionally  a  stately  great  cumulus  cloud  moved 
out  over  the  valley  like  a  ship,  trailing  a 
wine-purple  cloud  across  the  gold  and  green 
of  the  slopes,  passing  on  to  the  west  to  catch 
and  cling  to  some  great  crag  and  there  dis 
solve  in  rain. 

In  the  presence  of  such  prodigious  dramas 
the  women  ceased  to  speak,  and  only  dreamed 
with  half-shut  eyes,  absorbing  every  detail 
of  this  marvelous  upper  world  into  which 
they  might  never  again  penetrate  —  a  man's 
world  wherein  women  were  weak  as  the 
conies  and  inadaptable. 

Precisely  at  noon  Jim  came  out,  and,  lifting 
his  hands  to  his  mouth,  sent  forth  a  mellow 


ON  THE  GRIZZLY  BEAR  TRAIL  373 

shout  that  went  echoing  down  the  valley  like 
a  strain  of  music. 

11  Hello  !  hello  !     Dinner-bell  !  dinner-bell  ! 


The  women  scrambled  to  their  feet  in  haste> 
and  Jim  met  them  at  the  door  with  a  smile. 

"Want  to  wash?" 

"  Thank  you  ;  we  should  like  to." 

He  led  them  to  a  squared  pine-stump 
whereon  sat  a  basin.  Beside  it  a  pail  of  the 
cleanest  water  waited.  "  Here  you  are.  Dip 
in." 

He  brought  a  very  obviously  new  towel, 
which  was  as  slippery  as  cambric,  and  the 
women  eyed  it  and  him  with  sly  amusement. 

"Company  towel,  is  n't  it?"  said  Mrs. 
Ramsdell. 

"  Sure  thing.  Do  you  know  what  else  I  Ve 
got  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  We  could  n't  possibly  guess." 

"  Napkins  !  " 

"  Oh,  what  marvelous  extravagance  !  " 

"  I  bought  a  whole  mule-load  of  things 
yesterday  —  canned  peaches,  canned  corn, 
canned  salmon,  canned  celery,  canned  toma 
toes.  I  sure  laid  myself  out  to  feed  you  well, 
so  you  'd  stay  as  many  as  two  days." 


374  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

He  looked  at  Bessie  as  he  said  this,  and 
Mrs.  Ramsdell  smiled  back  at  him  signifi 
cantly.  Bessie  exclaimed  at  the  clean  table 
cloth  and  the  napkins  and  the  silver-plated 
knives  and  forks,  and  then  Mrs.  Ramsdell 
said : 

"  Now  that  we  Ve  seen  them,  please  put 
them  away,  and  let  us  eat  with  the  very  ones 
you  use  when  you  are  alone.  We  want  to  live 
just  as  you  do  when  we  are  not  here." 

"Impossible!"  cried  the  doctor.  "John 
did  n't  have  time  to  scour  the  knives,  and 
Bill  was  never  known  to  wash  a  dish." 

"Who  is  Bill?" 

"  Here  he  is  to  answer  for  himself." 

The  old  miner,  spattered  with  yellow  clay, 
and  looking  as  rusty  as  a  tin  can,  stood  look 
ing  in  at  the  door.  He  seemed  to  be  frozen 
in  an  attitude  of  suspense  till  the  doctor  said : 

"  It  's  all  right,  Bill ;  they  're  real.  It 's  no 
dream  this  time.  This  is  my  wife  and  this  is 
my  niece.  Girls,  this  is  old  Bill  Williams,  our 
foreman.  Look  at  him  close,  for  he  is  to  be 
superintendent  of  the  mine,  which  hereafter 
we  must  call  the  '  Bessie  B.'  How  about  it, 
Bill  ?  You  look  stunned." 

Bill  was  apparently  nothing  but  whiskers 


ON  THE  GRIZZLY  BEAR  TRAIL  375 

and  dirt  and  two  black  eyes,  but  he  had  his 
share  of  wit. 

"  I  never  expected  to  see  two  such  women 
at  once — up  here,"  he  finally  said,  with  a  big 
smile. 

"That  '11  do,  Bill,"  called  the  doctor; 
"you  Ve  said  it.  Go  wash  now  and  look 
pretty,  or  you  '11  stand  no  show  against  Jim." 

It  was  like  a  story  to  Bessie.  Old  Bill 
came  back  and  sat  in  the  doorway  and  told 
of  the  wonderful  vein  they  had  opened,  and 
the  doctor  joked  him  about  his  worshipful 
glances  at  Bessie,  and  the  Chinaman  clattered 
about  with  chirping  impertinence,  interrupting 
the  choicest  joke  by  presenting  a  dish  of  some 
inedible  food.  Jim  sat  at  the  head  of  the 
table,  with  Bessie  at  his  right,  but  was  kept 
too  busy  by  the  Chinaman  and  the  doctor  to 
be  able  to  have  any  conversation  with  any  one. 

The  doctor  expanded  from  moment  to 
moment.  "  Come  up  here  a  month  from,  now, 
and  you  '11  see  a  hundred  men  sitting  down 
to  dinner,  and  buildings  all  around  here  —  a 
village  of  our  own." 

"  Oh,  no !  "  said  Bessie.  "  That  will  spoil 
it  all.  One  little  cabin  does  n't  matter,  but — " 

"  How  else  do  we   get  our  million  ? "  he 


376  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

replied.  "Did  you  get  a  bite?"  he  asked 
of  Twombly,  who  had  quietly  taken  his  seat. 

"  Oh,  yes,  indeed  !  I  had  the  best  of  luck. 
I  brought  back  four  choice  ones.  I  could 
have  caught  more,  only  I  could  n't  keep  away 
from  the  mine.  I  went  over  to  the  tunnel  and 
took  a  look  at  the  ore." 

"  What  do  you  think  of  it  ?  " 

"It  looks  very  well.  Of  course  I  can't  tell 
till  I  make  an  assay  of  it." 

"  Assay  till  all  's  blue,"  said  the  doctor. 
"We  know  what  it  is,  and  we  're  satisfied." 

This  made  them  all  so  anxious  to  visit  the 
mine  that  dinner  was  hastened  and  the  table 
soon  turned  over  to  Williams  and  his  men. 
Jim  led  the  way  to  the  mine.  It  was  not  far 
away,  though  a  little  higher  than  the  cabin, 
and  they  soon  reached  its  mouth — an  irregu 
lar  opening  in  the  granite  side  of  the  moun 
tain.  A  heap  of  country-rock  lay  just  below 
it,  and  close  beside  the  little  tramway  was  a 
pile  of  rust-colored  ore. 

Jim  picked  up  a  piece  from  the  heap  near 
est  the  entrance,  and  his  voice  was  touched 
with  awe  as  he  said:  "  Here  's  the  vein,  doc. 
You  don't  need  any  glass  to  see  the  color 
on  it." 


ON   THE   GRIZZLY   BEAR   TRAIL  377 

Ramsdell  turned  visibly  paler  as  he  scru 
tinized  it.  "  By  the  Lord  Harry,  so  it  is." 
He  turned  to  his  wife.  "  Deary,  this  makes 
us!"  His  voice  was  tremulous  with  emotion, 
and  his  wife  ran  to  him  and  threw  her  arms 
about  his  neck,  unable  to  utter  a  word.  Bessie 
looked  at  Jim  with  big,  tear-misted  eyes.  She 
had  never  seen  the  jovial  doctor  so  deeply 
moved.  His  emotion  was  much  more  con 
vincing  than  the  gold  itself. 

Jim  was  able  to  speak  first,  but  he  was 
forced  into  jocularity  to  conceal  his  emotion. 

"Well,  now,  see  here!  Are  any  of  you 
mourners  going  into  the  mine  with  me?" 

At  this  they  all  laughed,  and  the  tension  of 
the  moment  gave  way.  The  doctor  straight 
ened  up.  "  Lead  on,  Macduff.  Is  it  muddy?" 

"  Not  much.  Keep  right  in  my  track." 
He  took  down  three  candles,  and  handing 
one  to  the  doctor  and  another  to  Twombly, 
lighted  his  own,  and  they  all  proceeded. 

The  tunnel  ran  nearly  straight,  with  a  little 
up  grade,  deep  into  the  heart  of  the  moun 
tain.  On  the  ties  of  the  little  tramway  strips 
of  board  were  nailed,  and  footing  remained 
fairly  dry,  though  the  ripple  of  a  small  stream 
of  water  could  be  heard  beneath  the  track. 


378  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

The  way  grew  darker  and  colder  as  they  went 
in,  and  once  Jim  called : 

"  Shield  your  light,  doc ;  we  pass  an  old 
side  shaft  here  on  the  right." 

Once,  as  they  stood  waiting  for  the  doctor 
to  relight  his  candle,  Bessie  moved  close  to 
Jim  as  if  seeking  protection. 

"  Oh,  is  n't  it  solemn  in  here  ! " 

He  reached  for  her  hand  and  pressed  it 
hard.  "  Keep  close  to  me,  and  I  '11  take  care 
of  you.  There  's  no  danger." 

"  Suppose  the  mountain  should  cave  in,  or 
something  ! " 

"  We  keep  watch  of  that,"  he  replied. 
"When  we  see  a  vein  of  water  seeping  in,  we 
shore  it  up  and  go  on." 

It  was  very  sweet  to  be  the  protector  of 
such  a  little  thing  as  Bessie  seemed  to  him, 
and  Jim  was  glad  that  the  mine  was  growing 
colder  and  damper  and  more  mysterious ;  it 
gave  him  an  excuse  to  turn  and  reassure  her. 

"  Step  out  bravely.  Don't  get  scared.  I 
won't  take  you  into  danger." 

They  heard,  at  last,  the  sound  of  picks, 
and  came  upon  a  couple  of  men  working  at 
the  loosened  rock.  They  had  struck  the 
vein  at  an  angle,  and  were  drifting  to  the  left 
toward  the  Ella  Grace  claim. 


ON  THE  GRIZZLY  BEAR  TRAIL  379 

"Well,  boys,  how  does  it  go?"  asked  Jim, 
cheerily. 

"  She  's  widening  out,"  replied  one  of  the 
men.  "  Fully  an  inch  in  the  last  ten 
feet." 

As  the  doctor  and  Twombly  picked  around 
the  wall  under  guidance  of  the  men,  Jim  stood 
close  beside  Bessie. 

"  I  can't  realize  that  there  is  a  great  for 
tune  there,"  said  Mrs.  Ramsdell.  "  It  seems 
like  madness  to  go  digging  into  the  moun 
tains  like  this." 

Jim  had  Bessie's  hand,  and  as  he  replied, 
"  It 's  all  here,  and  it  's  ours,"  his  powerful 
fingers  closed  on  Bessie's  small  wrist.  His 
words,  so  far  as  Mrs.  Ramsdell  knew,  referred 
to  the  doctor  and  himself.  To  Bessie  they 
meant  something  more  —  so  much  more  that 
a  little  thrill  of  fear  ran  through  her  blood, 
and  her  throat  constricted  in  a  singular  pain, 
a  pain  that  was  also  a  profound  pleasure. 
For  just  a  moment  she  was  passive,  then  her 
hand  struggled  to  be  free. 

"  I  don't  like  it  in  here.  I  want  to  get  out," 
she  cried  in  a  sort  of  panic. 

"  Well,"  said  Jim,  "I  reckon  we 've seen  all 
there  is  to  show.  Let  's  jog  along  back  to 
sunshine." 


XVI 

BESSIE   CLIMBS  A  PEAK 

JIM  had  determined  to  have  a  talk  with 
Bessie  which  would  set  everything  to 
rights,  but  he  was  too  much  a  son  of  solitude 
to  enter  upon  such  a  dialogue  with  the  pos 
sibility  of  interruption.  He  preferred  to  be 
with  her  on  a  height  overlooking  the  valley, 
where  only  the  soaring  eagle  could  listen. 

Bessie  was  eager  to  climb  a  mountain,  and 
when  she  spoke  of  it  again  next  day,  Jim 
said :  "  All  right ;  but  you  'd  better  wait  till 
your  lungs  are  stronger:  the  air  is  mighty 
thin  and  cold  up  there." 

"  How  long  mnst  I  wait  ?  " 

"Oh,  a  week  or  so — when  you  come  up 
again." 

"  But  we  're  not  going  down,  at  least  not 
while  the  weather  is  fine.  Aunty  says  she 
never  expects  to  get  up  here  again,  and  so 
she  wants  to  stay  as  long  as  possible." 

380 


BESSIE  CLIMBS  A  PEAK  381 

"  I  'm  mighty  glad  of  that,"  said  Jim,  with 
great  satisfaction.  "  But  I  '11  jest  nacherly 
have  to  rack  down  the  trail  and  stock  up,  or 
you  '11  go  hungry.  We  don't  intend  to  let 
you  go  at  all  if  canned  goods  will  keep  you." 

She  watched  him  as  he  saddled  his  horses 
and  packed  the  sacks  of  ore  he  wished  to 
have  assayed,  and  when  he  was  about  to 
start,  she  said,  " '  Good-by,  Jim ;  take  keer 
of  yourself.' ' 

And  he,  not  knowing  that  her  speech  was 
a  quotation,  replied : 

"  I  'm  a-goin'  to  —  sure  thing.  I  Ve  got  a 
whole  lot  to  live  for  these  days." 

As  he  rode  off  down  the  trail,  his  clear  voice 
urging  his  pack-horses  before  him,  the  girl's 
heart  beat  quick  with  admiration  of  her  big, 
graceful  mountain  lover,  whose  every  tone 
and  gesture  were  suited  to  his  splendid  environ 
ment. 

While  he  was  gone  the  doctor  led  his  flock 
out  upon  a  grassy  shoulder  of  the  mountain, 
and  there  they  sat,  glad  of  the  sun,  watching 
the  splendid  cloud-dramas  of  the  environing 
peaks  and  talking  of  the  mine  and  its  possi 
bilities. 

"  It  puts  an  end  to  my  Chicago  practice, 


382  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

my  dear,"  he  said.  "  I  shall  be  needed  here, 
and  we  must  get  a  house  in  the  Gap." 

"Oh,  Uncle  Will!  And  can  I  come  and 
live  with  you  here  ?  "  cried  Bessie. 

The  doctor  looked  concerned. 

"Don't  you  think  you  '11  be  lonesome? 
Think  of  the  plays  and  concerts  you  'd  miss." 

Bessie  stoutly  shook  her  head.  "  I  love  it 
out  here.  I  never  want  to  go  back." 

The  doctor  laid  his  right  hand  over  his 
heart,  and  sang  in  doleful  voice,  "  Where-e'er 
thou  art  is  ho-o-o-me  for  me-hee-hee,"  and 
Bessie  threw  a  pebble  at  him. 

"  You  brought  it  on  yourself,"  remarked 
Mrs.  Ramsdell. 

Twombly  began  to  feel  that  he  was  very 
much  outside  of  the  "whole  proposition,"  and 
seized  the  first  opportunity  to  ask : 

"  About  this  mine,  now,  what  terms  can  we 
agree  upon  ?  " 

The  doctor  said:  "To  tell  the  square-toed 
truth,  Mr.  Twombly,  we  're  not  so  anxious  to 
sell  as  we  were;  but,  seeing  that  you  have 
come  so  far  and  represent  some  of  Jim's  friends, 
we  '11  let  you  have  a  block  of  stock  at  par,  and 
that  's  a  concession,  for  we  have  a  fortune 
under  our  hands.  If  you  had  taken  Jim's 


BESSIE  CLIMBS  A  PEAK  383 

offer  over  there,  we  would  have  stood  by  it ; 
but  as  you  came  to  examine  first,  with  option 
of  doing  nothing  at  all,  we  have  the  same 
rights.  We  withdraw  our  first  offer,  and  sub 
stitute  one  based  on  the  newer  developments." 

Twombly  looked  serious.  "  I  suppose  I 
should  do  the  same  thing  in  your  place.  But 
I  could  n't  buy  a  pig  in  a  poke,  y'  know." 

"  Well,  I  tell  you,  it 's  all  a  gamble  anyhow. 
You  could  n't  expect  us  to  sell  gold  dollars  in 
hand.  We  can  see  the  money  in  our  ore,  and 
if  you  come  in  now  you  come  on  our  terms 
strictly.  I  don't  know  what  we  are  going  to 
do.  We  may  consolidate  with  Cuyler.  Any 
how,  our  original  offer  can't  hold." 

Twombly  was  disappointed,  but  could  not 
blame  his  American  friends  for  his  own 
"failure  to  come  to  time,"  as  Jim  called  it. 

"  Very  well.  I  will  come  in  on  your  terms. 
I  like  you  all  — " 

"We  like  you,"  interrupted  the  doctor. 
"  If  we  did  n't  we  would  n't  bother  with  you 
now." 

Twombly  went  on:  "I  want  to  be  associated 
with  the  mine  in  a  small  way,  and  so  do  my 
friends  the  Briens.  I  think  I  shall  go  back 
to  the  hotel  to-night." 


384  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

"  You  're  welcome  to  camp  here  as  long  as 
you  please." 

"  I  'm  sure  of  that ;  but  I  'm  a  little  burden 
some  here,  and,  besides,  I  want  to  see  what 
is  doing  down  at  the  town." 

"  Very  well.  You  '11  find  a  bunk  here  any 
time  you  care  to  ride  up  the  trail,"  said  the 
doctor,  cordially. 

Mrs.  Ramsdell  was  sincerely  sorry  to  see 
Twombly  go.  "  If  we  take  a  house  in  the 
Gap,  you  must  make  your  home  with  us  during 
your  stay  in  this  country,"  she  said  as  he  rose 
to  leave  them. 

"  You  're  very  kind.  I  'm  deeply  grateful 
for  what  you  Ve  already  done,  Mrs.  Ramsdell. 
You  Ve  made  me  quite  forget  that  I  was  among 
strangers." 

Bessie  was  very  sweet  and  friendly,  but  a 
little  distant;  and  Twombly,  being  an  expe 
rienced  man,  understood  her  changed  manner, 
and  said  good-by  very  gravely.  He  was 
grateful  for  the  entertainment  her  innocent 
flirtation  had  afforded  him,  and  he  was  sin 
cerely  glad  that  Jim  was  restored  to  favor. 
He  went  away  down  the  trail  smiling.  He 
was  sorry  he  had  not  taken  with  Jim's  des 
perate  offer  on  shipboard,  but  then  — 


BESSIE   CLIMBS   A   PEAK  385 

Jim  returned  late  for  supper,  and  they  all 
gathered  round  him  while  he  drank  his 
warmed-over  coffee  and  talked  of  the  offers 
he  had  had  for  his  share  in  the  mine. 

"We  're  going  to  be  overrun  with  yaller- 
legged  experts,"  he  said  disgustedly,  "and 
I  'm  goin'  to  lock  the  trail." 

Bessie  waited  on  the  table,  and  would  have 
cooked  him  something  nice,  but  she  was  afraid 
of  John  Chinaman. 

Jim's  love  for  her  was  very  human,  and  his 
desire  to  reach  out  and  encircle  her  waist  had 
no  touch  of  awe  in  it.  She  looked  very  house 
wifely  as  she  gathered  the  dishes  together 
after  he  had  finished.  He  thought  of  Mary 
at  the  moment,  but  put  the  thought  aside. 

The  days  which  followed  were  filled  with 
keen  pleasure.  When  alone,  the  men  dis 
cussed  the  mine ;  when  together  with  the 
women,  the  doctor  brought  the  young  people 
into  most  intimate  relation.  He  all  but  spoke 
of  them  as  engaged.  For  their  own  part, 
Jim  and  Bessie  kept  to  a  laughing,  elliptical 
sort  of  conversation,  which  allowed  him  to 
say  things  which  meant  little,  so  far  as  words 
went,  but  which  were  made  meaningful  by 
glances  and  by  cadences  in  the  utterance. 


386  HER   MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

Each  morning  the  sun  rose  fair,  and  each 
day  at  eleven  o'clock  the  great  clouds  gath 
ered  on  Ouray  and  Lizard  Head,  and  the 
thunder  broke  forth  like  monster  cannon- 
shots.  Each  day  the  doctor  said,  "Well, 
shall  we  go  down  to  the  camp  to-day  ?  "  and 
each  time  Bessie  quickly  cried,  "  Oh,  no ;  not 
to-day,"  and  Mrs.  Ramsdell,  with  a  shudder, 
said,  "  Oh,  that  dreadful  trail !  No;  let  me 
stay  a  little  longer,  Willard.  I  shall  never 
get  up  here  again. "" 

"Oh,  yes,  you  will,"  said  Jim.  "We  '11 
build  a  stage-road  for  you." 

It  was  not  all  courtship  for  Jim.  He  spent 
hours  with  the  doctor  and  various  business 
men  in  discussing  the  mine  and  plans  for  its 
development.  He  rode  down  nearly  every 
morning  to  the  camp,  but  contrived  to  spend 
his  afternoons,  and,  above  all,  the  sunset 
hours,  with  Bessie.  The  girl,  on  her  part, 
assumed  each  day  more  and  more  of  the 
management  of  the  cabin,  and  Jim  went  so 
far  as  to  kick  the  Chinaman  for  saying,  "Lilly 
gal  heap  boss  —  no  likee." 

"See  here,  John,"  he  said  ominously.  "That 
little  gal  is  your  boss  and  my  boss,  and  don't 
you  forget  it.  If  you  say  another  sassy  word 


BESSIE   CLIMBS   A   PEAK  387 

to  her,"  —  he  seized  the  little  man  in  his  arms 
and  swung  him  high  above  his  head, — "I  bust 
you  like  a  squash." 

John  went  away  rubbing  the  back  of  his 
neck.  "  All  light ;  me  sabby.  You  belly 
stlong.  Mebbe  so  lilly  gal  all  time  boss." 

Jim  smiled.  "  I  guess  that 's  right,  John. 
She  's  going  to  boss  us  all  right  along  now." 

With  nice  clean  tents  and  good  bedding, 
the  women  had  no  complaint  to  make  while 
the  weather  continued  fair ;  but  the  nights 
grew  colder  and  the  clouds  of  midday  more 
portentous,  and  at  last  the  noonday  showers 
changed  to  hail  or  snow  flurries,  and  then  Jim 
said : 

"Well,  folks,  it  's  powerful  good  of  ye  to 
keep  me  company  so  long ;  but  I  reckon  you 
better  drop  down  to  a  lower  level.  I  don't 
want  the  responsibility  of  keeping  you  here 
much  longer.  It  's  liable  to  snow  us  up  any 
time  now." 

Bessie  cried  out:  "  Oh !  then  I  must  climb 
my  mountain." 

"She  calls  it  her  mountain  now,"  remarked 
the  doctor. 

Jim  looked  at  her  thoughtfully.  "  Think 
you  can  stand  it  ? " 


388  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

"  Oh,  yes.  My  lungs  are  getting  stronger. 
I  can  run  up  that  little  hill  and  not  hurt  me  at 
all.  I  was  half-way  to  the  top  of  the  trail 
to-day." 

"Well,  then,"  replied  Jim,  "we  '11  make  a 
try  for  the  pass  to-morrow.  We  '11  start  right 
after  dinner,  and  we  '11  see  how  far  you  can 

go." 

Of  course  Bessie  invited  Mrs.  Ramsdell, 
who  promptly  refused,  and  equally  natural 
was  the  doctor's  ready  assumption  that  he, 
too,  had  been  invited.  He  referred  to  the 
trip  a  great  many  times  during  the  day,  and 
always  in  a  way  which  left  no  doubt  as  to  his 
intention  to  share  it. 

"  I  shall  enjoy  that  walk  to-morrow,"  he 
said.  "  I  Ve  always  threatened  to  go  up  to 
the  top  of  Lizard  Head,  but  always  put  it  off." 

"  I  reckon  you  better  put  it  off  again," 
remarked  Jim.  "  Cuyler  is  coming  over  to 
talk  business  with  you,  and  you  '11  have  to 
stay  here." 

"  Oh,  I  can  send  one  of  the  boys  over  and 
tell  him  to  come  some  other  day." 

He  was  relentless  up  to  the  moment  when 
Bessie  came  from  the  cabin  dressed  for  the 
walk.  He  rose,  and  said :  "  Well,  I  suppose 


BESSIE  CLIMBS  A  PEAK  389 

we  'd  better  be  going.  It  is  a  nice  little 
climb,  and  the  wind  is  cold  up  there." 

"  Willard ! "  exclaimed  his  wife,  and  laid 
hold  of  his  coat-tails.  "  You  're  not  going." 

He  sighed,  and  said :  "  You  see  how  it  is, 
Bessie.  I  'm  quite  willing  to  accept  your 
kind  invitation,  but — " 

"  Are  you  ready  ?  "  said  Jim. 

"All  ready." 

"Then  we  go,"  he  replied,  and  they  set  off 
up  the  trail,  leaving  the  doctor  behind. 

Jim  held  himself  down  to  a  moderate  pace, 
but  Bessie's  cheeks  were  soon  pink  with  exer 
tion,  and  Jim  thought  it  neighborly  to  stop 
and  call  attention  to  the  change  in  vegeta 
tion. 

"  Here  we  see  the  last  of  the  aspen,"  he 
said.  "The  mountain  pine  will  last  far  up 
to  the  snow-line;  everything  else  will  drop 
out.  After  a  little  you  '11  be  able  to  tell  the 
altitude  by  the  trees." 

The  path  was  very  beautiful,  even  after  it 
left  the  oaks  and  aspens  behind ;  it  was  like  a 
curving  ribbon  in  the  rich,  thick,  short  grass 
of  the  mountain  meadows,  and  in  every  ravine 
it  crossed  a  stream  of  the  purest  water.  Co 
nies  squeaked  round  the  rocks,  and  young 


390  HER    MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

eagles  cried  from  their  nests ;  everywhere 
were  wide  fields  of  snow,  except  on  the  broad, 
slowly  ascending  valley,  which  lay  wide  to  the 
sun. 

The  girl  had  a  sense  of  being  in  a  world 
alone  with  her  lover,  and  it  troubled  her 
breathing  almost  as  much  as  the  walking. 
When  they  sat  beside  the  trail  to  rest,  Jim 
talked  of  the  mountains  and  the  birds  and 
beasts,  and  pointed  out  the  route  they  must 
take  to  reach  the  summit. 

"  Oh,  how  much  farther  it  is  than  I 
thought !  "  she  said. 

"  It  '11  use  up  the  evening,"  he  replied  in 
a  tone  of  satisfaction.  "I  'm  not  worried ; 
are  you  ?  " 

"Not  with  you  for  guide,"  she  replied. 

He  rose.  "  Well,  we  must  keep  a-lopin'. 
Let  me  carry  your  jacket ;  it 's  a  right  sharp 
climb  yet." 

As  they  rose,  Bessie's  heart  expanded  with 
a  pleasure  that  was  almost  pain.  The  world 
of  peaks  became  awesome  with  its  grandeur 
of  line  and  splendor  of  color.  On  every  side 
great  ranges  tumbled  against  the  sky  like 
billows  of  an  opalescent  sea,  with  crests  of 
gold  and  brown  and  purple,  with  fields  of  snow 


BESSIE  CLIMBS  A  PEAK  391 

here  and  there  like  mighty  foam -flecks. 
Every  sign  of  man  except  the  foot-path  dis 
appeared,  and  the  girl  walked  a  little  nearer 
the  stalwart  figure  of  her  guide. 

"  It  scares  me,"  she  said  in  a  half- whisper, 
as  they  stood  side  by  side  to  rest. 

"  I  reckon  the  Almighty  wrote  his  finest 
poetry  right  here,"  he  said.  "  I  wish  I  'd 
'a'  known  this  country  before  anybody  else 
found  it.  I  'm  a  miner  —  that 's  my  trade.  But 
sometimes  I  feel  disgusted  with  the  business. 
It  tears  the  hills  to  pieces." 

They  came  at  last  to  a  big  snow-field,  and 
there  Jim  turned.  "  Now,  my  girl,  I  reckon 
you  better  let  me  help  you.  It 's  a  sharp 
raise  here." 

She  took  his  hand,  and  skirting  the  snow, 
they  came  out  upon  a  smooth,  steep  slope 
covered  with  crumbling  masses  of  rock.  With 
fifteen  minutes'  painful  climbing  they  reached 
the  base  of  a  vast  comb  of  rock  rising  from  the 
smooth  brow  of  the  mountain. 

"That  is  the  crest  of  Lizard  Head,"  said 
Jim,  as  he  drew  the  girl  into  a  nook  out  of  the 
wind,  which  was  keen  and  strong.  "  Do  you 
want  to  go  up  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  I  want  to  go  to  the  actual  summit." 


392  HER  MOUNTAIN  LOVER 

"  I  like  that !  "  he  said,  smiling  at  her.  "  I 
like  grit." 

It  was  a  hard  task  to  reach  the  topmost 
crag,  but  at  last  they  set  foot  there,  and  the 
girl  clung  to  the  mountaineer  in  wordless  fear 
and  awe.  And  he,  setting  his  broad  breast 
into  the  wind  to  shield  her,  felt  a  quick  rush 
of  love  for  her,  she  seemed  so  helpless,  so 
tender,  in  the  midst  of  the  savage  world  of 
snow  and  crag.  He  put  his  arm  around  her 
and  drew  her  closer  within  his  shelter. 

"  Did  n't  realize  how  cold  it  was  up  here, 
did  you?" 

"  No ;  but  is  n't  it  grand !  It  makes  me 
want  to  cry." 

"  It  makes  me  want  to  sing,"  he  replied 
exultantly.  "We  Ye  two  miles  and  a  half 
above  New  York  —  and  London." 

Then,  without  another  word  of  love,  he 
pointed  out  rapidly  the  great  ranges  and 
peaks  which  could  be  seen.  He  indicated  the 
direction  in  which  lay  the  Elk  Mountains, 
the  Needle  Range,  the  Lone  Cone  of  Sierra 
Blanca,  and  the  great  wall  of  the  Sangre  de 
Cristo.  She,  on  her  part,  was  feeling  the  shel 
tering  power  of  his  arm  and  the  sturdy  poise 
of  his  tall  frame,  and  was  happy  in  his  nearness. 


BESSIE  CLIMBS  A  PEAK  393 

He  had  a  watchful  eye  on  her.  "  We  must 
go  down ;  it  is  too  cold  up  here  for  you." 

When  they  reached  the  little  sheltering 
hollow  in  the  ragged  base  of  the  crest  she 
was  shivering  with  cold  and  nervous  exhaus 
tion.  He  took  off  his  coat  and  made  her  put 
it  on,  and  led  her  round  to  another  niche 
where  the  sun  fell  warm  and  golden. 

"  It  was  almost  too  much,  was  n't  it  ? "  he 
asked.  But  her  chattering  teeth  prevented 
an  answer.  "  I  never  took  a  girl  on  a  trip 
like  this  before ;  women  ain't  built  for  this 
kind  o'  thing,  anyhow.  Funny,  I  never  no 
ticed  how  little  and  soft  girls  are."  He  mused 
on  this  for  a  moment. 

"  A  mountain  is  always  twice  as  high  as  it 
seems ;  that  's  the  reason  I  wanted  an  early 
start.  It  will  be  sundown  before  we  reach 
the  cabin." 

He  sat  down  close  to  her,  and  pulled  the 
collar  of  the  coat  close  around  her  face.  He 
was  a  good  deal  concerned  about  her,  but  tried 
not  to  let  her  know  it. 

"  You  '11  warm  up  in  a  minute,"  he  said 
reassuringly.  "  You  're  tired,  you  see,  and 
that  wind  got  into  your  bones.  I  wish  I  'd 
brought  some  whisky;  but  I  never  take  it 


394 


HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 


except  for  snake-bites,  and  I  did  n't  think  of 
it  this  time.  Are  you  warmer  now  ?  " 

He  put  his  arm  around  her  again,  and  his 
voice  was  tender  as  he  said :  "  I  hope  you  're 
not  goin'  to  be  sick.  I  can't  afford  to  lose 
you  now  I  've  got  you."  He  smiled  down  at 
her,  and  when  she  turned  her  face  up  at  him, 
he  said  :  "You  see,  I  want  you  to  stay  in  the 
high  country  with  me  —  will  you  do  it  ?  " 

Her  eyes  fell,  and  he  hastened  to  add :  "I 
don't  suppose  I  ought  to  say  anything  more 
to-day  ;  but  I  sure  need  ye  bad.  I  Ve  been 
chasin'  round  over  these  hills  till  I  'm  tired  of 
it.  I  want  to  build  a  cabin  up  here  some- 
wheres,  and  put  you  in  it,  and  kind  o'  take  it 
easy  and  watch  the  sun  do  the  work.  I  'm  a 
shaggy  specimen,  but  I  can  take  care  of  you 
now  the  way  a  man  'd  ought  to  do  —  and  I 
want  you.  You  need  n't  answer  now  if  you 
don't  want  to." 

She  lifted  her  hands,  and  put  them  about 
his  neck,  and  gave  him  a  sudden  pull. 

"  I  love  you,  Jim." 

"That  settles  the  whole  proposition,"  he 
said,  and  gave  her  a  squeeze  that  made  her 
gasp.  "  And  now  we  must  hurry,  for  the  sun 
has  left  us,  and  you  '11  be  getting  chilled  again/' 


BESSIE  CLIMBS  A  PEAK  395 

As  they  stood  facing  each  other,  she  put 
her  arms  about  his  neck  again,  and  asked : 

"  Do  you  love  me,  Jim  ?  Do  you  love  me 
better  than  you  do  that  London  woman  ?  " 

He  took  her  wrists  in  both  his  strong 
hands,  and  looked  at  her  very  soberly. 

"  Now,  see  here,  little  girl ;  you  must  n't 
worry  about  that  woman.  It  's  like  this :  I 
went  down  into  the  low  country  and  among 
queer  people,  and  I  had  a  queer  dream :  A 
woman  was  good  to  me,  and  I  liked  her.  I 
reckon  I  liked  her  mighty  well,  but  I  was  n't 
her  kind,  and  she  was  n't  my  kind,  and  we 
said  good-by.  And  I  broke  away  and  came 
back  where  I  belonged ;  and  the  girl  I  really 
wanted  for  my  wife  was  slicker  than  ever, 
and  I  just  calculated  on  getting  her.  But  she 
had  switched  off,  and  was  being  nice  to  an 
other  chap  — " 

"  It  was  your  fault." 

"And  so  I  said,  'Well,  Jim,  you  're  due 
to  chew  the  bitter  cud.  You  Ve  trailed 
up  somebody  else's  deer.'  So  I  climbed 
higher.  But  the  girl  was  only  foolin',  after 
all,  it  seemed;  and,  now  we  understand 
each  other,  let  's  let  bygones  go  by,  and  see 
if  we  can't  dig  out  a  whole  lot  of  comfort  right 


396  HER  MOUNTAIN   LOVER 

here  in  the  mountains.  Now,  what  do  you 
say?" 

"  I  wish  the  other  girl  had  n't  been 
dreamed,"  she  said  wistfully. 

"  So  do  I,  now,"  he  replied.  "  But  dreams 
don't  last  long  after  sunrise." 

He  looked  at  her  with  a  curious  smile. 
"  You  know  what  I  'm  going  to  do  ?  "  He 
stooped  suddenly  and  kissed  her.  "There  — 
you  're  mine  now.  Let  us  go  home  and  tell 
the  folks  what  has  happened  to  us." 


AA      000271665    2 


